A money-laundering trial set to begin in mid-April in Italy has shed light on a hidden offshore operation that may have contributed to a major human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan in 2013.

EPP Political Assembly, Marseille 2011 - Luca Volontè (Wikimedia Commons)

A major Swedish engineering company, Bombardier Transportation AB, is suspected of channeling millions of dollars in bribes to unidentified Azerbaijani officials through a shadowy company registered in the United Kingdom.

The President of Azerbaijan appointed his wife as his deputy on Tuesday, making her his successor in case he is unable to perform his duty, and this way cementing the power of his dynasty.

An Azerbaijani court has reduced the suspended sentence of outspoken journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was imprisoned in late 2015 for her reporting of corruption in the country’s ruling family. 

Azerbaijan's state-owned energy company, SOCAR, likes Turkey’s Tekfen Construction and Installation building company so much, it tried to buy into it in 2008.

Construction on Baku Olympic Stadium was classified by the government as an urgent project, so single-source procurement was allowed. (Photo Credit: OCCRP)

The Italian government Thursday urged Azerbaijani authorities to revoke the travel ban placed on investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, an OCCRP partner.

In a surprise move, Azerbaijan’s Central Bank devalued the national currency, the manat, in 2015. But was everybody surprised?  Did insiders know about the move ahead of time and did they position their own banks and businesses to profit from the devaluation while the Azerbaijani people suffered?

On her first day of freedom, between CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and the Voice of America, Khadija Ismayilova made time to talk to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. She reflected on the experience of her 537 days in jail, the current situation in Azerbaijan and the Khadija Project, OCCRP’s response to her incarceration.

At the exact time Azerbaijani reporters were celebrating the release of their colleague, investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, from prison, the president of the country quietly ordered his government to buy his daughters failed mining venture.

Khadija Ismayilova released from prison (Photo: Meydan TV)Journalist Khadija Ismayilova was set free after her final appeal hearing today at the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan two days before her 40th birthday.

Journalist Khadija Ismayilova will be able to appeal her imprisonment decision in a Supreme Court of Azerbaijan hearing on May 25, according to Trend News Agency. This is the final appeal in the Azerbaijani Court system. If she is unsuccessful the next step would be to take the case to the European courts.

Knightsbridge apartments penthouses

With a wide semi-circular entrance hall and doormen in tops-and-tails, the apartment building at 199 Knightsbridge in London is all glass, polished marble, and clean lines. Advertised as an enclave of private residential apartments in the capital’s heart, the penthouse of the prestigious development is yet another home for Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva, daughters of the president of Azerbaijan.

Swedish prosecutors say they won’t be pressing charges against Swedish-Finnish telco Telia Company (formerly TeliaSonera) for a suspected record bribe in Azerbaijan based on their recently completed investigation.

Soon, it will have been a year since reporters for OCCRP and other organizations took a long, hard look at what is going on inside Azerbaijan’s prison system.

In May of 2013, the government of Azerbaijan, via its State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), injected $750,000 into an obscure Texas-based non-profit, the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan (AFAZ).

In mid-2014, investigative reporter and OCCRP partner Khadija Ismayilova disclosed that the family of the President of Azerbaijan is, in all likelihood, a business partner with the Swedish-Finnish telecom formerly called TeliaSonera.

Fairfax Media and the Huffington Post have revealed a link between the Panama Papers and their joint investigation into a bribe-and-corruption scandal centering on the Monaco-based company Unaoil.

International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney said Azerbaijan is abusing its power by trying to silence its critics, including imprisoned OCCRP partner and reporter Khadija Ismayilova, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

The FGJ, a Swedish organization for investigative journalism, has awarded OCCRP and its Swedish partners SVT and TT a Golden Shovel award for its joint bribery investigation into TeliaSonera’s business dealings in Azerbaijan.

Authorities turned away activists and journalists attempting to visit imprisoned OCCRP partner Khadija Ismayilova on Monday, according to Voice of America (VoA).