А new corruption scandal broke out around Azerbaijan in the world. This time it is connected with the fact of bribing the italian MP for 2.5 million euros by Azerbaijani officials, figured out by italian investigators.
Bribe in Italian
In Italy, the former leader of the European People’s Party of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Luca Volonte is accused of receiving 2.39 million euros from the accounts of company ”Baktelecom” for supporting Azerbaijani officials, the “Caucasian Knot” reports.
This information was previously provided by Meydan TV with reference to the newspaper “Corriere della Sera”. According to this news, the prosecutor’s office of Milan brought to the well-known Italian politician charges of corruption and money laundering, received by criminal means.
Volonte was elected four times as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament, the last time in 2008. He was the head of the European People’s Party in PACE from January 2010 to June 2013, recalls the “Caucasian Knot”.
The defense side of Volonte categorically refutes these accusations, calling them absolutely groundless. However, according to the investigation, Volonte received 2.39 million euros from 2012 to 2014 from the accounts of the telecommunications company ”Baktelecom”.
In the documents of the prosecutor’s office is stated, that “during the meetings and conferances in Azerbaijan and Strasbourg, Volonte promised to support the political positions of a foreign state for money” and carried out “short-term and long-term political initiatives”.
The money, according to the journalists of the “Current Time” was spent on not allowing to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) give a progress to the report on the situation of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
Drown facts in euros
In January 2013, the Council of Europe voted against the resolution on Azerbaijan, where was described the situation of 85 people, who were in prison on political charges.
“For” the resolution was submitted only 79 votes, while “against” – 128, and it was rejected with the wording “Charges do not correspond to reality.” Italian investigators suppose, that this decision was paid from the funds of telecom-company Baktelecom.
According to the investigation, in total for the full coverage of the amount of bribe were made 18 money transfers through “Polukh Management LP” company, registered in Great Britain and the Estonian branch of Danske Bank.
In the transfer of bribes were also allegedly involved the members of the Azerbaijani delegation in PACE Elkhan Suleymanov and Muslim Mamedov, and its addressees were members of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament.
The police do not point the names of deputies who received money, but the party includes 73 collective members, including national parties from 39 countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy and other countries).
However, the Azerbaijani side furiously denies all such accusations: “Statements about the transfer of a bribe to the Italian MP Luka Voluonte by the Azerbaijani government are groundless. This is a lie and part of a dirty campaign against Azerbaijan.
Such campaigns of Armenians against Azerbaijan will never cease, as they have no other way out than to slander”, – said the member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE Rovshan Rzayev in an interview with the Report.
Offshores and “caviar diplomacy”
In 2016 it was not the first time the higher ranks of Azerbaijan were mentioned in connection with financial scandals of the international level. As the “Caucasian Knot” wrote, in April the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a report on transactions and offshores of famous politicians.
The report says that the Azerbaijani President’s family owns secret offshore accounts and stakes in gold mining companies. This information from the Panamanian Archives confirmed the information of the journalist Khadidzhi Ismaylova, who conducted investigations on large-scale corruption in the highest echelons of the Azerbaijani authorities, the “Caucasian Knot” recalls.
In the world arena, OnKavkaz also wrote about the facts of bribing politicians from the side of Baku. A few years ago a scandalous report, revealing the facts of bribing the members of the Council of Europe by the Azerbaijani authorities with the help of expensive gifts and black sturgeon caviar, was presented in Europe,
The report titled “Caviar diplomacy” of the non-profit organization “European Stability Initiative” caused great irritation in Baku, which was blamed for trying to drown critics and buy Europe’s loyalty. The report says that the friendly members of the Council of Europe of Azerbaijan turn a blind eye to human rights violations, receiving in return from Baku sturgeon caviar, silk carpets, gold and silver ornaments and other rich gifts.
And last year’s European games in Baku were completely ignored by most of the leaders of the European Union. And Germany completely accused Azerbaijan of human rights violations. Therefore, the place that was given to Baku in the list of peace-loving (peaceful) countries is understandable in the logic of the Western world.
Source: OnKavkaz.com