New details of the high-profile corruption case in the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan

The Baku Court of Appeal held another hearing on the appeal against the verdict regarding the ex-head of the Financial and Budget Department of the Ministry of Defense Major General Nizami Mammadov, former head of the Financial Service of the Air Force Colonel Jalal Kazimov, ex-head of the Financial Department of the Land Forces Bayram Bayramov and former head of the Financial Service of the Navy Vusal Alizade.

As Oxu.Az reports, during the process chaired by Judge Ibrahim Ibrahimli, the accused J.Kazimov, giving testimony, revealed the names of individuals directly involved in the misappropriation of funds.

"The head of this case is the head of the audit department of the Financial and Budget Department of the Ministry of Defense, Rafail Khalafov. Although the examination established that he misappropriated 7 million, he is free. In addition, N.Poladov has not yet been arrested. They should be present here. This petition was not granted in the first instance either. My signature did not appear anywhere. But I have already been under arrest for 37 months. The expert opinion on 102 military units was prepared and presented in a week. The amount of misappropriation attributed to me is completely inflated," said the ex-chief.

He also added: "My service began at the age of 18. I participated in the first Karabakh war. I am devoted to my homeland. In this criminal case, we are simply sacrificed. The audit covered the period from the appointment of Nizami Mammadov to the position, previous periods should have been checked as well. I ask the court to summon the persons I mentioned to the process."

The defendant's petition was not granted this time either.

The accused V.Alizade stated that in the lower court their petitions were granted, but the case was not investigated:

"In the Baku Military Court, our case was not properly investigated. We have already been in a room of 3-4 square meters for three years and one month. I support my appeal. I ask to apply Article 62 (imposing a milder punishment than provided for this crime - ed.) of the Criminal Code."

The next court hearing is scheduled for April 7.

Note that the former head of the Financial and Budget Department of the Ministry of Defense Major General Nizami Mammadov, ex-head of the Financial Service of the Air Force Colonel Jalal Kazimov, former head of the financial department of the Land Forces Bayram Bayramov, ex-head of the financial service of the Navy Vusal Alizade, former heads of the Procurement and Supply Department of the Ministry of Defense Colonel Mahir Shirvanov and Melikmamed Gurbanov, as well as the ex-head of the housing and maintenance department of the ministry Colonel Fikret Mirzoyev were arrested as a result of a special operation by the State Security Service.

According to the investigation, the accused misappropriated funds allocated from the state budget. The total damage caused to the state in this case is estimated at 143 million manats.

Criminal cases against the defendants have been separated into separate proceedings and sent to court. All of them are charged under Article 179.4 (misappropriation on an especially large scale) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

The Ministry of Finance is recognized as a victim in the criminal case. According to the verdict of the Baku Military Court, N.Mammadov was sentenced to 11 years and 6 months, B.Bayramov - to 11 years and 6 months, J.Kazimov - to 11 years, V.Alizade - to 10 years and 6 months of imprisonment. In addition, the property of the accused, which was seized, was confiscated in favor of the state to compensate for the damage caused.