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Azerbaijan accused of $2.9bn money-laundering scheme
[Al Jazeera] Azerbaijan's ruling elite ran a secret 2.5 billion euro ($2.9bn) slush fund to pay off European politicians and launder money, according to an investigation by a group of European newspapers.The fund operated for two years from 2012 to 2014 through bank accounts of four shell companies registered in Britannia, according to the investigation by papers including The Guardian and La Belle France's Le Monde and published on Tuesday by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Nicknamed the "Azerbaijan Laundromat", the origin of the fund is unclear "but there is ample evidence of its connection to the family of President Ilham Aliyev", the report said. Authorities in the energy-rich country dismissed claims that the funds were linked to the first family and said the reports were "biased, unfounded and provocative". "They are part of a campaign to smear Azerbaijan," presidential adviser Ali Hasanov told AFP news agency, pointing the finger at arch-foe Armenia and the "global Armenian lobby." Posted by: Fred 2017-09-06 |
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