Details added (first version posted on 14:45)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Samir Ali - Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Nasimi District Court considered a motion to replace the measure of restraint in the form of arrest, chosen against arrested ex-ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia Eldar Hasanov, to a house arrest on Sept. 12, Trend reports.
The motion was considered and rejected during the trial, chaired by Judge Babak Panahov.
Head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's Office of Affairs, Chairman of the Tender Commission Farhad Mollazade, Head of the ministry’s Consular Department Faig Bagirov and others were found criminally liable upon the criminal case initiated by the State Security Service.
The case was filed in connection with numerous illegal actions committed by some officials of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry that harm the interests of the state protected by the law by deliberately using of their powers contrary to the official interests, abusing the official powers, as well as in connection with theft and bribery.
During the current criminal investigation, new information was obtained on the embezzlement of budgetary funds allocated for the activity of the Foreign Ministry. Proceeding from the collected materials, a decision was made to carry out the comprehensive audit of financial and economic activity.
During the financial inspections, reasonable suspicions arose that Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina Eldar Hasanov spent huge budgetary funds for other purposes and committed other offenses.
Hasanov was arrested as a suspect as part of the investigation.
Hasanov was charged under Art. 308.2 (abuse of office duties) and 308-1.1 (misuse of budgetary funds) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
A preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen against Hasanov until November 3 upon the decision of the Sabail district court.