AzFinance Investment Company Director arrested

Intigam Safaraliyev, director of the AzFinance investment company and well-known financier, has been arrested, oxu.az reports. He is accused of large-scale fraud. The victim in the case is Tale Heydarov, the son of Azerbaijan’s Minister of Emergency Situations, Colonel General Kamaladdin Heydarov.

According to the investigation, Safaraliyev, through abuse of trust and false promises, obtained over 1 million manat from Heydarov.

Based on a complaint filed, the financier has been remanded in custody.

He has been charged under Article 178.4 (fraud committed with damage on an especially large scale) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which carries a prison sentence of 10 to 14 years.

Safaraliev himself denies guilt. During preliminary interrogations, he stated that he committed no unlawful acts against the victim.

Intigam Safaraliev has headed AzFinance since 2019. With over 15 years of experience in asset management, he also served on the Supervisory Board of AFB Bank (reportedly affiliated with the Heydarov family) and held a number of other management positions.

This post is also available in: Russian