CITIBANK, RAIFFEISEN BANK violate Azerbaijani legislation and int’l norms by financing separatists in Karabakh - expert

By Trend

The development agency called "We are Our Mountains", created by the Russian billionaire of Armenian origin Ruben Vardanyan, is carrying out a number of projects in Karabakh under the guise of "humanitarian activities" within the cooperation with Armenia and international structures.

Among projects, communicated to the general public on the agency's official website, donations are being collected for the so-called competition "David-Bek" Youth Championship, which includes systematic military training and education. The total budget of the competition, which is scheduled for January-May of this year, is about $212,000. The aim of the event is to popularize military subjects among the youth, to ensure young people’s willingness for combat operations and the formation of experienced combat units.

Donations can be made by bank transfer and credit card, and despite the fact that the main bank account belongs to Armenia’s AMERIABANK, there are also correspondent banks such as CITIBANK NA, NEW YORK (for transfers in US dollars), RAIFFEISEN BANK INTERNATIONAL AG, VIENNA (transfers in euros), and RAIFFEISEN BANK MOSCOW (for transfers in Russian rubles).

As Farid Bakhshiyev, a financial expert and partner of EKVITA, told Trend, from a legal point of view, the conduct of any banking operations by a bank is regulated by the legislation of the country where the bank is registered.

"However, there are also the Basel III principles on the regulation of transnational financial transfers, and in this regard we also see a violation of these international principles. Besides, each bank has local (corporate) rules and regulations. In all these cases, transactions conducted through the accounts of these banks absolutely violate both international and national requirements and the codes of corporate ethics of the banks," Bakhshiyev said.

As the financial expert noted, several projects implemented by separatists in Karabakh under the guise of "humanitarian activities", and the participation in this illegal activity of the above-mentioned international banks violate Azerbaijan’s legislation.

"I would like to underline the existence of The FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Recommendations that ensure comprehensive measures which countries should implement in order to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, and an implementation of financial transactions carried out by any banks in the occupied territories or entities non-recognized by the UN. Thus, all of these violate the requirements of FATF," Bakhshiyev said.