General Nizami Mammadov and Three High-Ranking Officers Face Trial for $143 Million ₼ Embezzlement

According to local publication Qafqazinfo, Colonel General Nəcməddin Sadıkov allegedly spent 21,000 manat of state funds on personal glassware. The trial of Major General Nizami Mammadov and three other high-ranking officers, accused of embezzling 143 million manat from the Ministry of Defense, is nearing its conclusion.

The trial, held at the Baku Military Court, has seen all witnesses testify. In the latest session, presiding judge Fikret Aliyev, with the agreement of both parties, began examining the case materials.

Among the documents reviewed was a four-year financial report submitted to the State Security Service (DTX) by Elnur Suleymanov, head of the Administrative Department of the Ministry of Defense. The report details that 713,000 manat was spent on events organized by the Ministry between 2016 and 2019. This included 60,000 manat spent on flowers and 14,000 manat on potted plants from the “Ağ Çiçəyim” retail chain.

One particularly striking entry in the report revealed that during this period, Colonel General Nəcməddin Sadıkov, then Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, had 21,000 manat spent on six sets (36 pieces) of personal tea glasses (pear shaped)  and 8,000 manat on 80 bottles of wine, with each bottle costing 100 manat. The total expenditure of 29,000 manat for Sadıkov’s personal use was covered by state funds.

During the proceedings, service evaluations for the accused officers were read. Except for Colonel Celal Kazimov, former head of the Financial Service of the Air Force, the other accused officers received positive evaluations. General-Lieutenant Ramiz Tahirov, recently retired commander of the Air Force, submitted a negative review of Kazimov to the State Security Service, describing his service unfavorably. In response, Kazimov claimed the negative assessment was biased, stating, “I have served for 30 years without ever receiving a reprimand or penalty.”

In the previous session, Kazimov’s lawyer, Ali Adıgözəlov, requested additional witnesses be called to testify. The lawyer argued that numerous individuals named in the embezzlement case had money transferred to their accounts, amounting to over one million manat. He sought their testimony in court. However, the judge ruled that the existing statements from these individuals, included in the case files, were sufficient and denied the request for additional witnesses.

The trial will continue on July 19 with further examination of documents.

It is noteworthy that the 143 million manat embezzlement was uncovered by the State Security Service (DTX). Numerous officers have been implicated in the case, and those jointly charged, including General Nizami Mammadov, Colonel Celal Kazimov, Colonel Bayram Bayramov, former head of the Financial Department of the Ground Forces, and Captain Vusal Alizade, former head of the Financial Department of the Naval Forces, have been in custody for nearly three years.