During a court hearing at the Sabail District Court of Baku city, a 4-month pre-trial detention measure was chosen for Adnan Ahmadzada.
According to information obtained by “Qafqazinfo”, Adnan Ahmadzada is accused of sabotage against economic security and, in particular, large-scale embezzlement in the criminal case conducted by the State Security Service.
It should be noted that Adnan Ahmadzada worked in senior positions at SOCAR for many years and was known for his extensive business network both domestically and abroad. He is the former Deputy Head of SOCAR's Investment Department. His arrest has caused a stir in Azerbaijan's energy sector.
Ahmadzada's arrest is linked to accusations of grossly violating national laws by mixing 'Azeri Light' crude oil with other crude oil products. This act is considered a serious blow to the reliability and market transparency of Azerbaijan's oil industry.
Alongside this arrest, the government intends to strengthen the fight against corruption and individual abuses that could weaken Baku's international standing. The incident is also presented as part of a cleanup and transparency campaign in Azerbaijan's energy sector.
It should be recalled that in July, it was revealed that chloride, a harmful substance, was detected in several batches of crude oil exported from Azerbaijan.
Although it was claimed that oil exports from Ceyhan port were temporarily suspended due to the harmful substance found in oil batches reaching Romania and Italy, BP-Azerbaijan, the operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, denied the news. From the company's statement, it became clear that the harmful substance was detected in several storage tanks at Ceyhan port. The oil in those tanks was re-purified, and at the same time, exports continued through other tanks.
A few weeks after the incident, the Romanian press, citing sources in the country's law enforcement agencies, reported that the harmful substance was deliberately added to Azerbaijani oil by Russia. The Russian side has not made any statement regarding this information.
According to the world press, the aim was both to inflict significant financial damage on Azerbaijan and to harm its relations with partner countries.
It should also be noted that after the harmful substance was detected, the BTC pipeline had also suspended the transportation of Kazakh oil. Transportation was restored last week.
The allegations made regarding A. Ahmadzada's arrest create the possibility that the arrest is directly related to this incident.