Investigation confirms bribery of PACE delegates in Azerbaijan's interests

On April 26, most of the delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted for a resolution on the report prepared by an independent investigative team, according to which European politicians and officials lobbied for Azerbaijan's interests for bribes. Officials of Azerbaijan opposed the resolution. They state the report is biased and has been drawn up with the aim of blackmailing.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 27, 2017, the PACE Bureau decided to conduct an independent external investigation into the alleged facts of corruption in the organization.

The report prepared by members of the investigative team confirmed the information on regular bribes of a number of PACE delegates. The investigation was focused on Azerbaijan, since officials of the country were engaged in open and regular bribing.

According to the report, black caviar, the cost of a kilogram of which reaches several thousand US dollars, was one of the most common gifts to PACE delegates. Other common gifts included rooms booked in five-star hotels for a week, business class flights, and tickets for star concerts.

The report confirms the information about the PACE delegates' involvement in so-called "banknote" corruption, when during the elections of officials to the Council of Europe, PACE delegates were handed envelopes with cash.

The investigative commission has submitted the evidence of corruption schemes involving 17 current and former PACE delegates. So, a German delegate got from the companies affiliates with Azerbaijan 799,500 euros, the report announces.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.