AZE.US
A major fraud case involving Azer Asgarov, described by Azerbaijani media as a business partner of the son of former Chief of General Staff Najmeddin Sadikov, has returned to the Supreme Court.
According to Pravda.az, another cassation appeal has been filed against the court ruling in Asgarov’s case. The appeal will be reviewed by Supreme Court Judge Shahin Yusifov.
Asgarov was charged under Article 178.4 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, which covers fraud committed on an especially large scale.
The case involves three victims, two of them Turkish citizens. The total material damage was estimated at 2,270,746 manats.
According to case materials cited by local media, Asgarov persuaded people to invest money in business projects that were never carried out. The allegations included plans to build a cotton-processing factory in Azerbaijan, organize a textile business in Turkey and purchase iPhones for resale.
In one episode, he allegedly promised Turkish co-founders that a factory would be established in Azerbaijan to process locally grown cotton and that they would receive profits from their investment. In another case, he reportedly received 224,000 manats from an acquaintance and did not return the money. He was also accused of taking 58,000 manats from another person after promising profits from the wholesale purchase and resale of iPhones.
Another episode involved $70,000, equivalent to about 119,000 manats, allegedly received in installments under the pretext of setting up a textile factory in Turkey.
The Baku Court for Grave Crimes sentenced Asgarov to 12 years in prison. The Baku Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, while partially satisfying appeals filed by two victims acting as civil plaintiffs.
Under the appellate ruling, 2,270,746 manats in material damages and 1,926 manats in state fees are to be collected from Asgarov and paid to the victims.
The case has also been linked in media reports to Arif Novruzov, a former senior official in the Presidential Administration and Asgarov’s father-in-law. Azerbaijani outlets previously reported that Novruzov lost his post after his son-in-law’s name appeared in fraud-related allegations.
Local media also reported that Novruzov himself later became a victim of fraud while trying to secure Asgarov’s release from prison. He allegedly paid 100,000 manats to people who claimed they could help, but the promise turned out to be false. Those who received the money were later held accountable.
Novruzov died after these events following an illness, according to the same reports.
The Supreme Court will now consider the new cassation appeal. The previous rulings, including the prison sentence and the order to compensate the victims, remain in force unless changed by the higher court.
AZE.US