Azerbaijan.US
Discussions in Azerbaijan have вновь focused on the foreign business interests and property holdings of children of current and former senior officials.
Recent reports about overseas investments have fueled public speculation that such cases may reflect a broader pattern rather than isolated examples.
According to reporting by Globalinfo.az, public attention has periodically centered on relatives of several well-known former state figures, prompting renewed questions about the origin of invested funds and the possibility of official scrutiny.
Economist and legal expert Akram Hasanov argues that Azerbaijan currently lacks sufficient legal and institutional mechanisms to conduct effective investigations into the sources of such assets. In his view, authorities cannot reliably require proof of origin for property or businesses held abroad.
Hasanov notes that the country’s income-and-expenditure declaration framework for public officials has never been fully implemented. Although a relevant law was adopted in 2005, the declaration format has not been approved, preventing meaningful comparison between officials’ reported income and their accumulated assets.
As a result, he says, systemic anti-corruption scrutiny remains limited. While individual officials are occasionally detained, the legal basis for such cases is not always publicly clear, leaving broader questions unresolved.
According to the expert, concerns about the wealth of officials’ relatives will likely persist unless declaration requirements and transparency mechanisms are fully enforced.
