Baku court hears embezzlement case over nearly 1 million manat in the sports department

A Baku court on Tuesday held another hearing in the case of alleged large-scale embezzlement at the city’s Main Department of Youth and Sports, where former head Ragif Abbasov and ex-chief financial officer Eldaniz Gulamov stand accused.

According to prosecutors, 871,255 manats were allocated from the state budget for sports events, but the funds were misappropriated. Abbasov has so far reimbursed 100,000 manats during the investigation.

A representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports — recognized as the injured party — told the court that no expenditure records were submitted for 52 events. “Financial audits revealed the funds were not transferred to competition winners and were used improperly,” he said.

A witness, Samir Kazymov, an adviser at the department, testified that activity plans were drawn up annually, and funds withdrawn from the bank account were reported post-event.

The defendants are not under arrest but remain under travel restrictions. They have been charged under Article 179.4 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code for embezzlement on a particularly large scale. The next hearing is scheduled for July 9.

N.Tebrizli