AZE.US
A woman involved in Azerbaijan’s gold trade has been arrested over an alleged investment fraud scheme that may have caused losses exceeding 2.2 million manats, or about $1.29 million.
Elnara Shirmammadova, also known as Elnara Safarova, is the daughter of Ismayil Safarov, a singer well known in southern Azerbaijan.
She has been charged under Article 178.3.2 of the Criminal Code, which covers large-scale fraud, and will remain in custody during court proceedings.
Nine people have been formally recognized as victims in the main criminal case. Investigators allege that Shirmammadova obtained about 1.3 million manats from them through deception.
The individual losses listed in the case range from 3,500 to 467,000 manats. Together, the nine claims total approximately 1.26 million manats.
A separate complaint has also been filed by gold trader Zulfiya Guliyeva, who claims Shirmammadova defrauded her of another 940,000 manats. That allegation is being investigated separately by the Nasimi District Police Department.
Combined claims in the two cases exceed 2.19 million manats.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
One of the complainants said Shirmammadova primarily targeted people she knew personally, including relatives, friends and family acquaintances.
According to the victims, she displayed large quantities of gold, including jewelry weighing two to three kilograms, and claimed to operate her own sales outlet in the gold market.
She allegedly referred to well-known jewelry companies and used the names of established gold traders to convince potential investors that their money would be placed in a legitimate and profitable business.
The complainants say the promised returns and principal were not repaid, while deadlines were repeatedly postponed under different pretexts.
They described the operation as a Ponzi-style scheme, in which an organizer attracts investors by promising reliable profits and may use money from new participants to pay earlier investors.
However, publicly available case materials have not established whether earlier participants were actually paid with money obtained from later investors. The court will determine whether the operation legally qualifies as a financial pyramid or another form of fraud.
Victims Suspect Others May Have Been Involved
Some complainants believe Shirmammadova may not have acted alone. They allege that her mother was present during some financial transactions and that Shirmammadova sometimes claimed they worked together.
No formal charges against her parents have been reported.
Her father rejected the allegations, saying his daughter had not taken money from anyone and describing the accusations as slander.
The preliminary investigation into the complaints filed by the nine victims has been completed. The case has been sent to the Baku Court on Grave Crimes for trial.
AZE.US