Not too long ago, we reported on military training for Armenian youth organized in Karabakh under the guise of a ‘competition’. We also elaborated on the financing scheme, backed by the criminal billionaire Ruben Vardanyan. The documents revealed that foreign banks such as the CITIBANK and Raiffeisen Bank have been transferring funds to the separatists on the territories of our country, violating the legislation of Azerbaijan.

Fuad Aliyev, Director of the Cooperation Department of the Financial Monitoring Service commented to AzVision.az that Ruben Vardanyan collects the donations to hold the ‘competition’ in Karabakh through NGOs in foreign countries. These organizations register abroad, open a bank account, and operate legally. The collected funds are directly transferred to Armenia and from there to some ‘bank’ in Karabakh in various ways.

Aliyev says CITIBANK and Raiffeisen Bank are not directly involved in financing the project, held under the name of ‘Davit Bek Youth Championship’: ‘CITIBANK and Raiffeisen Bank do not directly transfer funds to banks, illegally functioning in Karabakh. They manage the accounts of some NGOs operating in their own respective countries.’

He added that if these banks are proven to be involved in operating with separatists or illegally, sanctions will be put in force. The Azerbaijani side is investigating the issue. It is not as easy as it sounds, but we are taking appropriate steps, investigating, contacting relevant authorities abroad and transferring information. ‘We cannot take any measures against them. Only the competent authorities of those countries may do so. Several state bodies are working on the issue at the moment’, he noted.

Aliyev also said that the bank is not considered at fault if there was no information of the purpose of the transfer and no illegality revealed: ‘Proving these things is difficult. These countries must also have the political will to investigate further. The Karabakh ‘banks’ are not participating in the transfers. The funds are collected in the USA, Russia and Europe and transferred to Armenia. Everything is legal up to that point. However, if it is proven that the funds are transferred to finance terrorism and support extremism, those organizations must also be taken certain measures against. These countries are responsible for implementing them.’

Sabina Hasanova

Ayten Zehra

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