23 September: several thousand people gather in Baku for a protest rally of the National Council of Democratic Forces, under the slogan ''Return the money stolen from the people!''. (c) Aziz Karimov/Zuma Press/PA Images. All rights reserved.It’s been a busy last few weeks for Sofia’s City Prosecutor Office, which has launched an investigation into Kalin Mitrev, the Bulgarian representative to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. In Slovenia, a presidential candidate dropped out of the race. In the UK, former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has called for a full investigation into the whereabouts of dirty money channeled through UK offshores to buy influence and powerful friends.
The reason for all this commotion is the revelations surrounding a new money laundering scheme dubbed the “Azerbaijani Laundromat”, released by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) together with international investigative media outlets and Belingske. Stories of offshores, investments and businesses owned by members of the ruling Aliyev family have adorned international publications for years. This is hardly the first investigative exposé of corruption and money laundering schemes commonly used in Azerbaijan — just remember the Panama Papers.
So what makes the latest round of revelations so special? In the days since their announcement, I’ve had time to chew over the question. As executive director of OCCRP Paul Radu told me, this was the first time investigative journalists have actually gained access to bank accounts, and revealed the actual beneficiaries of these huge transactions. Radu added that the funds were used not just to purchase luxury goods and politicians in Europe, but that countries like Iran had used Azerbaijan’s slush fund to bypass sanctions.
