BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17. Observer Online, renowned for the periodic international investigative articles, has published a new article titled “Documents have been leaked regarding the controversial corruption of Macron’s Companions”.
The article reveals documents confirming that large bribes were transferred to the accounts of A. Benalla, the head of the French President’s Security Service, and A. Derraz, the vice president of the well-known French company Saur (who is currently under investigation in Azerbaijan) in exchange for releasing the sanctioned billionaires’ assets from detention.
Trend presents Observer Online’s sensational report along with the leaked documents in their original form.
“As is known, some time ago, the British press published a controversial article stating that there is an ongoing criminal investigation in the Azerbaijani special services regarding the fact that Alexandre Benalla, the head of French President E. Macron’s security service, and his accomplice, Moroccan-born French citizen Anass Derraz, demanded a bribe of 6,140,000 USD in exchange for the release of the “Luna” yacht from international detention in 2018, which belongs to Farhad Ahmadov, a Russian billionaire of Azerbaijani origin.
According to the article, “F.Ahmadov transferred part of that money to A.Benalla's bank account № 2701000091503 at the French branch of "BANK OF AFRICA UNITED KINGDOM PLC SC PAR" and to Anass Derraz’s bank account № 024071984024 "AL HILAL BANK".
Although the issue has been seriously covered up in France itself, A. Derraz, a participant in the crime related to the criminal case conducted by Azerbaijan’s state security service, who was later due to his “special services” promoted to the position of vice president of France’s largest international water and sewage system constructing company, "Saur," was brought to justice in Azerbaijan and is currently under house arrest, on the other hand, an international arrest warrant has been issued for A. Benalla.
The French Embassy in Azerbaijan has shown its inability in defending Anass Derraz, whose appeals are relentless. Given the nature of the matter, the relevant French authorities, facing a difficult situation, are more concerned about the potential consequences of publicizing the issue of bribery being taken from individuals under international sanctions.
Our editorial team, having confirmed that the bribe indeed took place, has obtained and is presenting to the broad audience a three-party agreement signed under the guise of a legal services contract between Alexandre Benalla, Anass Derraz, who are not lawyers, and Farhad Akhmedov, as well as some bank statements showing transfer of funds from Farhad Akhmedov to the accounts of Benalla and Derraz.
Our investigations into the matter are ongoing.”
