For some time, the Prosecutor General's Office has been conducting an investigation at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS).
On October 1, Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev said in a statement to journalists that according to the information he had, the preliminary investigation had already been completed in some episodes, and those cases with completed investigations had been sent to court for trial.
So far, it is not publicly known which cases have been sent to the court, under which articles of the Criminal Code these cases are being conducted, or who have been charged as suspects. On October 1, the Prosecutor General told journalists that additional information would be provided if necessary.
Regarding the criminal case in which the preliminary investigation is still ongoing about violations committed at ANAS, the articles of the Criminal Code under which this case is conducted became clear from the information released by the Prosecutor General's Office on October 29. The articles involved are 179.4 (waste particularly causing large-scale damage) and 308.2 (abuse of official powers causing serious consequences). According to the information from October 29, suspicions have been identified regarding the unjustified expenditure of 3 million manats of budget funds in this case. As a result of investigative measures, Elton Mammadov, the former head of the academy’s Administrative Department, currently serving as head of the social services department of the Presidium Apparatus, has been ensured to fully reimburse these funds to the state budget.
Thus, it has been officially disclosed that the ongoing criminal case regarding violations at ANAS is being conducted under two articles, and one of the suspects in this case (Elton Mammadov) has been officially named.
Unofficially, other names are also mentioned in the media. It is said at the Prosecutor General's Office that in general, as part of criminal cases opened concerning ANAS, the activities of the current president of the academy Isa Habibbeyli, as well as the activities of Ramiz Mehdiyev and Akif Alizade during their leadership periods at the academy, are being investigated.
Isa Habibbeyli has been the president of ANAS since October 26, 2022.
Ramiz Mehdiyev led ANAS from October 23, 2019 to February 14, 2022, and Akif Alizade served from April 25, 2013 to October 23, 2019.
Medianews.az reports that the ongoing criminal case at ANAS regarding violations is conducted under two articles of the Criminal Code, both of which are pursued under their most severe clauses.
One of them is Article 179. This article concerns embezzlement or waste. Its most severe clause is the fourth. The criminal case with preliminary investigation continuing at the Main Department for Combating Corruption under the Prosecutor General’s Office is conducted specifically under this clause 179.4. Under Article 179.4, imprisonment from 10 to 14 years is prescribed.
The next article under which the ongoing criminal case is conducted is Article 308. This article concerns abuse of official powers. The case against ANAS is conducted under the second clause of this article, that is, Article 308.2. Article 308.2—abuse of official powers causing serious consequences—is punishable by deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or practice certain activities for up to 3 years, and imprisonment for a term of 3 to 7 years.
Toğrul Ali,
Medianews.az
