Pandora Papers: Azerbaijan President's family traded nearly Rs 40,000 cr of UK property

The family of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is said to have transacted about 400 million pounds (Rs 4,000 crores) in United Kingdom's real estate over the last 15 years, reported The Guardian citing the Pandora Papers. The findings show that Aliyev's family and allies are involved in a network of offshore firms. One building was purchased for £33.5 million in 2009 by an offshore corporation beneficially owned by President Aliyev's son, Heydar, who was only 11 years old at the time. The disclosures raise concerns about potential loopholes in the UK's property registration system, and whether they prevent appropriate due diligence, even by an organisation like the Crown Estate, which is nominally owned by the UK monarch and managed by commissioners for the benefit of the country's finances, reported The Guardian. 

Aliyev has been the president of Azerbaijan since taking over from his father in 2003, and he has presided over a government that has been accused of human rights violations, manipulated elections, and systematic corruption. Following a series of stories by Azerbaijani investigative journalists accusing the first family of personally benefiting from state contracts and business deals, a European parliament resolution in 2015 called on "EU authorities to conduct a detailed investigation into the corruption allegations against President Aliyev and his family," the report stated. In a report released in 2017, the human rights organisation Freedom House criticised the country for "widespread and pervasive" corruption. The report stated that the government's anti-corruption initiatives will have minimal impact as long as the ruling elites profit themselves at the expense of the public purse. 

Pandora papers reveal illegal transfer of firm from President's daughter to her grandfather

The crown estate paid £66.5 million in August 2018 for 56-60 Conduit Street, an eight-story office and retail complex in London's Mayfair, which it purchased from Hiniz Trade & Investment, a British Virgin Islands-based company. The building was purchased for £35.5 million by Hiniz in 2009, and the Pandora papers indicate how the firm was passed from the president's daughter, Arzu Aliyeva to her grandfather, Arif Pashayev. Later, he went on to place the company into a trust in 2015, according to The Guardian. Although the leaked files do not reveal the source of the funds injected into Hiniz, the disclosure of the company's shareholders, and the manner in which ownership was transferred between members of Azerbaijan's first family, raises doubts whether the transaction should be investigated for money laundering. Notably, the Pandora papers are the world's largest collection of leaked data on tax haven secrecy. They present a rare insight into the shadowy world of offshore money, shedding light on some of the world's wealthiest people's financial dealings. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIL) published the leak on October 3.

Image: AP