Bribery charge of 200,000 manat: case of three tax officials sent to court

The criminal case of three officials of the State Tax Service charged with taking a total of 200,000 manat in bribes from entrepreneurs has been sent to the Baku Serious Crimes Court for trial. The Press Service of the Prosecutor General's Office released the information on November 2.

The accused are Eldaniz Ahmadov, deputy head of the State Tax Service's Main Department for Operational Tax Control and Registration in Baku; Rustam Mirzayev, deputy head of the same body's Area Assignment Department; and Kanan Mammadov, head of the department's 4th division.

According to the investigation materials, the named individuals allegedly took money from numerous entrepreneurs operating at a shopping centre in the capital by promising them various concessions. Reasonable suspicions have been established that a total of 200,000 manat in bribes was taken from them in exchange for not conducting tax inspections, not imposing fines and providing other privileges.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, Eldaniz Ahmadov, Rustam Mirzayev and Kanan Mammadov have been charged with taking a bribe on a large scale by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy. By a decision of the Binagadi District Court, all three were remanded in custody.

If found guilty and convicted, the accused face up to 12 years in prison.

In recent years, reports of employees of customs, tax and other state bodies being detained on corruption and bribery charges have regularly emerged in Azerbaijan.