Azerbaijani businessman: 'The goal is to silence everyone who speaks about Ilham Aliyev’s crimes'
Azerbaijani businessman rejects fraud charges
Former owner of Akkord Inşaat Sənaye and once closely connected to Azerbaijan‘s official structures, businessman Ilgar Hajiev—now residing in the United States—has protested against the fraud charges brought against him in Baku, alleging embezzlement of 17 million manats (around $10 million).
Hajiev dismissed the accusations as politically motivated.
He is accused of abusing the trust of an acquaintance, whose identity is known to investigators, while presenting investment projects for residential complexes in Russia.
According to the prosecution, Hajiev had promised the individual a return of $18 million on a $10 million investment in these projects. The indictment states that between February 2016 and March 22, 2017, he received $10 million, equivalent to 17 million manats at the time’s official exchange rate.
The General Prosecutor’s Office claims the funds were handed over to Hajiev in Moscow and Baku’s Khazar district. “There are reasonable suspicions that Hajiev fraudulently acquired significant assets belonging to the victim,” the statement reads.
From 2005 to 2009, Hajiev led Akkord Industrial-Construction Investment Corporation, which carried out international infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, and Afghanistan.
Until 2019, he served as an advisor to former Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia, Polad Bülbüloğlu. In January 2019, he founded the Centre for Business Transparency in Russia and the Fight Against Corporate Raiding in London.
“Ilham Aliyev and his inner circle seized my Akkord group of companies”
Former owner of Akkord İnşaat Sənaye, businessman Ilgar Hajiev, made a statement to JAMnews regarding the charges against him:
“This decision is a direct political order from Ilham Aliyev. God Nisanov (a Russian oligarch of Azerbaijani origin) and his associates raided my construction sites on behalf of Ilham Aliyev, involving both police and criminal groups.
This happened in various locations across Russia: in the Moscow region, Mytishchi district, the village of Pirogovo, Odintsovo district, and the village of Novye Zhavoronki. Reports about these raids were then circulated in Russian media.
Currently, the director of my company in Russia has been sentenced to nine years in prison on fabricated charges. In reality, Ilham Aliyev and his circle stole and seized my Akkord group of companies, effectively appropriating assets worth $4 billion.
All accusations against me are old. The governments of Azerbaijan and Russia have long sought my arrest through Interpol on these charges. However, in 2022, Interpol dismissed the request as unfounded.
The revival of these charges is nothing but a show for domestic audiences. The five-year term of Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev is nearing its end, and he wants to prove to Ilham Aliyev that he is taking action against the president’s enemies to secure his position.
Ilham Aliyev arrests journalists and civil society activists, silencing their voices. Right now, there is no space for free speech in Azerbaijan.
Only bloggers and businessmen like me, who live abroad, can speak out about Azerbaijan. That is why the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to silence us. Their goal is to ensure that no one talks about the crimes committed by Ilham Aliyev and his family.”
lgar Hajiev also stated that he has no idea who the “acquaintance” mentioned by the prosecution—whom he allegedly deceived—is supposed to be:
“I have no enemies except Ilham Aliyev. So I believe this person should be looked for within his circle or among God Nisanov’s friends,” Hajiev said.
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According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, Ilgar Hajiev fled the investigation outside Azerbaijan. As a result, charges could not be formally brought against him, and on 25 December 2020, a court declared him wanted.
Later, on 13 January 2021, the Narimanov District Court of Baku issued a pretrial detention order against him.
Hajiev has now been summoned for questioning at the investigative department of Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor’s Office on 15 July 2025. If he fails to appear, proceedings may be conducted in absentia, and a verdict could be issued without his presence.
Azerbaijani businessman rejects fraud charges
