In Saint Petersburg, law enforcement officers detained businessmen from Azerbaijan

Corruption scheme exposed in Leningrad Oblast: four police chiefs detained for connections with smugglers from Azerbaijan

A high-profile corruption case has been uncovered in the Vsevolozhsk district of Leningrad Oblast, where law enforcement agencies have detained four police department heads. As part of a large-scale operation, entrepreneurs of Azerbaijani origin have also been arrested who, according to investigators, were involved in selling illegal alcohol and untaxed cigarettes, as well as regularly bribing police chiefs, Russian media report.

Investigators have established that the detained businessmen not only traded in smuggled products but also employed illegal migrants.

Among the arrested entrepreneurs are Vusal Orujev, Ibadat Ismayilov, Asif Allahverdiyev, and Arastun Talibov. All of them have been charged with bribing officials. The court has decided to keep the suspects in custody until September 9.

The detained Azerbaijani citizens categorically deny the charges and dispute the necessity of being held in a pre-trial detention center.

It is worth noting that this is not the first case of investigations against Azerbaijani businessmen in Russia. Recently in Voronezh, special units conducted a search at the home of Yusif Khalilov, a well-known restaurateur and co-owner of a large market. And in Yekaterinburg, security forces organized a special operation against Shahin Shykhlinsky, who heads the "Azerbaijan-Ural" organization, completely blocking the building.