On 6 July, the Azerbaijani State Security Service launched a criminal case against three officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported Trend. The three officials in question were the Chairman of the Tender Commission of the Ministry Farhad Molla-Zadeh, Head of the Economics Department of the Affairs Department Salim Alizadeh and Chief of the Consular-Legal Department of the Consular Department Nurupasha Abdullayev.

Molla-Zadeh and Alizadeh were charged under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan for abuse of power, misappropriation and bribery, while Abdullayev was charged for bribery.

The State Security Service investigated the pieces of information obtained on the seizure of state funds intended for the activities of various structures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bribery in connection with various activities, including visa applications of foreign citizens and other illegal acts. The found documents showed that the officials received bribes in exchange for the allocation of funds for the execution of documents and work on legal entities established for the misappropriation of public funds by non-commodity transactions.

Farhad Molla-Zadeh and Salim Alizadeh allegedly took bribes from the funds from entrepreneurs who transferred money to the accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purchase of goods for economic needs. As for Nurupasha Abdullayev, the investigation revealed that he regularly took bribes in exchange for illegal actions related to the provision of visa applications for foreign nationals for whom electronic visas are not an option for their entry into Azerbaijan.

On 1 May, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appointed Kamran Aliyev as the country’s new Prosecutor General, launching a wave of arrests of public officials. On 4 May, the Prosecutor General’s Office in Azerbaijan carried out operations in three districts, revealing irregularities related to the violation of the quarantine regime as well as irregularities during the distribution of food aid (Caucasus Watch reported). On 12 May, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service publicly revealed that the Deputy Minister of Culture Rafig Bayramov and Head of the State Service of Cultural Heritage Conservation, Development and Rehabilitation under the Ministry of Culture Zakir Sultanov abused their official powers and committed numerous violations that significantly harm interests protected by Azerbaijani society and state laws. A day later, Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General filed a lawsuit in connection with the unlawful actions of coastal guard officials of the State Border Guard Service (Caucasus Watch reported).