Organized criminal group withdrawing money from bank accounts of foreigners detained in Azerbaijan (UPDATE)

Azerbaijan, Baku, June 23 / Trend , J. Babayeva/

The officers of the Azerbaijan National Security Ministry detained transnational organized criminal group engaged in withdrawing money from bank accounts of the foreign citizens in various banks through illegal entrance to database.

Azerbaijani citizens Valiyev Elkhan Hikmat oglu, Abbasov Elchin Beyverdi oglu, Hasanov Ruslan Abidin oglu, Hasanzade Abidin Nusrat oglu and Syrian citizen Muhammad Ibrahim Ahmad oglu and several foreigners who are being identified by investigation, entered data bank protected by law and copied it, the National Security Ministry Office for Public Relations told Trend . Members of the organized group withdrew money from accounts of the physical persons thus inflicting large damage. 

It turned out that Valiyev Elkhan, Abbasov Elchin, Hasanov Ruslan, Hasanzade Abidin and Muhammad Ibrahim joined criminal deal with foreigners. Their names are not announced due to investigation. Nur-AB OJSC was set up for Abbasov Elchin. He was registered ad legal entity. Foreign members of organized group got numbers and codes of plastic cards illegally. Owners of these cards were clients of banks of the USA, Canada, UAE, Germany, Sweden and other foreign countries. Foreign members of organized group sent these cards to their colleagues to Azerbaijan. Upon illegal data base, members of group being in Azerbaijan transferred sum in the amount of 300,000 manat to Nur-AB OJSC account using credit cards for cash payment. They acted under leadership of Valiyev Elkhan via POS-terminal.   

Organized group conducted forged operations on cashless accounts in the amount of 130,000 manat using codes of plastic cards of clients of Germany's banks via POS-terminal. This group transferred this sum to Nur-AB OJSC account. Sum in the amount of 54,000 manat was taken from banking account of Nur-AB OJSC early May 2009. Members of the group tried to take the rest funds in the amount of 73,000 manat from accounts. But one of Baku's operating commercial banks blocked account of Nur-AB OJSC. Criminals failed to reach their goal.

Moreover, members of the group headed by Valiyev Elkhan organized cashless operation in the amount of 160,900 manat via POS-terminal using forged plastic cards early June 2009. Abbasov Elchin and Hasanzade Abidin tried to take funds by transferring money from one banking account to another one under Valiyev Elkhan's order on June 8, 2009. But they were detained by employees of the ministry of national security on the basis of preventive plan of speicla operation. 

Head investigative department of the ministry of national security filed criminal case on the articles of the criminal code of the Azerbaijani Republic 271.2.1 and 271.2.3 (illegal access of group of people to computer information protected by the law on preliminary deal with big damage), 177.3.1 and 177.3.2 (secret embezzlement of property by organized group with big damage), Valiyev Elkhan, Abbasov Elchin, Hasanov Ruslan, Hasanzade Abidin and Muhammad Ibrahim were condemned as accused. They were arrested upon the court's decision.

Necessary investigative and operative-searching actions continue to investigate criminal case and reveal other participants of illegal action.