{"id":26129,"date":"2021-01-29T16:51:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T16:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/?p=26129"},"modified":"2021-02-09T15:22:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T15:22:43","slug":"azerbaijan-has-issued-mining-licenses-in-nkr-for-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/verified\/2021\/01\/29\/26129\/","title":{"rendered":"Azerbaijan Has Issued Mining Licenses In NKR For Years*"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the early 2000s, Azerbaijan sold the licenses of three mines in Artsakh controlled by Armenian forces to a British company. Its multinational leadership has ties with the Azerbaijani elite, has been involved in corruption and has experience in public administration in their countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On December 23, 2020, economist Hovhannes Avetisyan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Iq3UHb1abAA&amp;fbclid=IwAR2RH76Z8kiKRQrKQv8YYXaQU_cteXc0LSs0KPVhKRWhA1b1XD41QU_Mx_g&amp;ab_channel=SergeyDanielyan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> during Sergey Danielyan\u2019s \u201cMardavari Zruyts\u201d program that Azerbaijan had sold the license to use the resources located in Artsakh during the Soviet era to British companies (in the video from 27:10).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Media.am fact-checked this information: It turned out to be true. The licenses were bought by the British Anglo Asian Mining PLC company, which operates several mines in Azerbaijan. This was extraordinary in several respects:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The foreign company bought a license in a conflict zone, in a territory under the control of the adversary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This becomes more suspicious against the backdrop of journalistic investigations: It turned out that several mining companies in Azerbaijan were connected with the ruling Aliyev family.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is also surprising that the company presents Azerbaijan, which is considered authoritarian by several reputable international organizations, as a strictly democratic country on its official website.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Media.am decided to investigate the topic with open sources to find answers to the questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What does Anglo Asian Mining produce and in what areas?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This British company <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk\/company\/05227012\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was founded<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in 2004. Azerbaijan is the only country in which it carries out its activities. Its subsidiary, Anglo Asian Operations Limited, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/offshoreleaks.icij.org\/nodes\/12113620\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is registered<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the offshore zone of the British Virgin Islands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The shareholders and directors of the organization are from Great Britain, the USA and Azerbaijan. They are former high-ranking officials, mining specialists and businessmen. The head of the company is an Iranian, Reza Vaziri.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the two offices of the Anglo Asian Mining PLC is in London, the other in Baku. According to the official website, it is engaged in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.angloasianmining.com\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">extraction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of gold, copper and silver in Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The company, under another name, RV Investment Group Services LLC, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caspiannews.com\/news-detail\/british-based-mining-company-hope-to-expand-gold-exploration-in-azerbaijan-2019-4-10-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">came<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to Azerbaijan in 1997, but things didn\u2019t go well. In the 2000s, the company returned with a new name, and this time things were much more successful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The company is expected to extract400 tons of gold, 2,500 tons of silver and 1.5 million tons of copper by 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The British company operates 3 mines in Azerbaijan with a total area of 1,062 square kilometers. According to the agreement, the state has its share.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gedabek: It is located 55 km away from Ganja, the second-largest city in Azerbaijan. The area includes the country\u2019s first gold mine, several other mines, and a number of exploration targets.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gosha: It is located 50 kilometers northwest of Gedabek.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ordubad: Exploration gold and copper mining sites in Nakhichevan. The company considers its exploitation a part of its long-term development.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26086 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"974\" height=\"549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines1.png 974w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines1-768x433.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Map of the company\u2019s contract areas<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before the 2020 war, the company owned 3 contract areas with an area of 900 square kilometers under the control of Armenian forces. The company plans to exploit the mines \u201cwhen the political situation allows.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A separate section of the site is dedicated to the \u201coccupied\u201d territories. The mines located there are visible on the published map. We could not find areas with their names. However, according to the geographical location, we can say that Soyutlu is Sotk, Gizilbulakh is Drmbon, and Vezhnali is in Zangelan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Zangelan gold mine <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.minesandmetals.com\/2020\/10\/azerbaijan-took-control-over-the-zangilan-district-containing-anglo-asian-minings-vejnaly-contract-area\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">came under<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the control of Azerbaijan during the 44-day war in 2020. The Sotk gold mine is located on the border, half under the control of Armenia and half under the control of Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the mining company, Azerbaijan is a democracy<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A separate section on the Anglo Asian Mining website <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.angloasianmining.com\/azerbaijan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is dedicated to<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Azerbaijan. It is described as a \u201cpolitically stable democracy.\u201d According to the mining company, this country has \u201can established democratic government that fully supports international investment initiatives.\u201d The site also adds that low cost\u00a0 labor is available in Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The website does not mention the source of these assessments, but international organizations say otherwise. For example, Freedom House in its latest report of 2019 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/freedomhouse.org\/country\/azerbaijan\/nations-transit\/2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">considered<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Azerbaijan an authoritarian country.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Who are the owners and managers of the company?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The shareholders and executives of Anglo Asian Mining PLC have companies in offshore zones. They hold high administrative positions in their countries and cooperate with each other in different companies. Investigative journalists have written about several corruption deals, some of which are related to the ruling family of Azerbaijan, or their close circle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The names of 5 main shareholders are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.angloasianmining.com\/investors\/shareholder-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">published<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on the official website of the company: The data was updated on December 8, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26240 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Media-Screenshot.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"881\" height=\"490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Media-Screenshot.png 881w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Media-Screenshot-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Media-Screenshot-768x427.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 881px) 100vw, 881px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">4 out of 5 shareholders are members of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.angloasianmining.com\/about-us\/board-of-directors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">board of directors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the 5th, Michael, is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/metro\/2016\/11\/09\/who-who-sununus\/NExLKg9PBirJEGNljdpxCM\/story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the son<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of shareholder and member of the board of directors, John Sununu.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other family, friends and corruption:<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_26088\" style=\"width: 948px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26088\" class=\"wp-image-26088 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"938\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines2.png 938w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines2-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines2-768x383.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 938px) 100vw, 938px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-26088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reza Vaziri, photo by the Mining Journal<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">? <\/span><b>Reza Vaziri: he can get the Minister of Azerbaijan to say what he wants<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reza Vaziri, President,\u00a0 CEO and the largest shareholder of the Anglo Asian Mining PLC, has been doing business in Azerbaijan since its independence. His US-based company, RV Investment Group Services LLC, came to Azerbaijan during the time of Father Aliyev\u2019s government. The agreement signed in 1997 includes 9 copper and gold mines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before starting his career as a businessman, Vaziri held a number of high-ranking positions in the government of pre-revolutionary Iran, in particular in the Imperial Court of Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vaziri is not an ordinary successful businessman: He has ties in Azerbaijan and beyond. He was involved in corruption.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">? In 2016, the OCCRP <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.occrp.org\/en\/panamapapers\/aliyev-mining-empire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">published<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> an investigation about Asian Anglo Asian Mining PLC and an offshore company owned by Aliyev\u2019s daughters. Though the name of Vaziri\u2019s company was mentioned beforehand for the exploitation of the Chovdar mine, the company\u2019s experts visited the field, but the mine was not exploited by them. The mining license was obtained by a consortium led by Londex Resources S.A, which is registered in the Panama offshore zone. This company is owned by Aliyev\u2019s daughters, Leyla and Arzu.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">? In 2001, Vaziri helped Unaoil, a company <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2016\/05\/kazakhstan-azerbaijan-and-the-bribe-factory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">involved in<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> corruption deals. His connections with the Azerbaijani leadership were revealed by the leak of this company\u2019s e-mail.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In his letter to Vaziri, the Unaoil executive said he was able to meet \u201cat any time\u201d with Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natik Aliyev and Prime Minister Artur Rasizade. The vizier <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/interactive\/2016\/the-bribe-factory\/day-2\/azerbaijan.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">can get<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Minister Natik to \u201csay exactly what we want.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2004, Unaoil paid Vaziri $400,000 for his help in Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">? Vaziri is the founder and lifelong co-chair of the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The purpose of this Chamber is to deepen business ties between the two countries. Members of the Chamber have held high-ranking positions in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">James Baker III is a member of the Honorary Council of Advisors of the Chamber which was founded in 1995: He <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usacc.org\/leadership-member\/11-04-2019-1554980092\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">has held<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> high positions in the administration of 3 US presidents. A member of the same chamber is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usacc.org\/leadership-member\/20-04-2019-1555754359\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Henry Kissinger<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, former US Secretary of State, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usacc.org\/leadership-member\/20-04-2019-1555754451\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Brent Scowcroft<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Assistant to the President and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The former governor of New Hampshire who also mines gold in Azerbaijan, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usacc.org\/leadership-member\/20-04-2019-1555754559\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">John Sununu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, is also a member of the US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, along with Reza and others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>? ? The Sununu family: they hereditarily govern in the US state of New Hampshire<\/b><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_26090\" style=\"width: 937px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26090\" class=\"wp-image-26090 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"927\" height=\"669\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines3.jpg 927w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines3-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/mines3-768x554.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-26090\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Photo from trend.az<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The second-largest shareholder of Anglo Asian Mining PLC is 81-year-old John Sununu. He and his son Michael Sununu are on the list of directors of the same company. While the names of both are on the website, their family connection is not specified.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">John Sununu has experience in public administration. He became the governor of New Hampshire three times, then US President George W. Bush appointed him chief of staff in 1989, after which he hosted CNN\u2019s Crossfire political debate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The governor of New Hampshire has been Sununu\u2019s son, Republican Chris Sununu, since 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>? Limelight Industrial Developments<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The next shareholder of the company is a British company, which <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.limelightdevco.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is engaged in<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the creation of industrial parks. Founded in 2011, it is registered in the building of an auditing company. We could not find any other information about the company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>? Khagani Bashirov: His name is associated with the disappearance of $109 million from the IBA<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Khagani Bashirov was one of the major shareholders of Anglo Asian Mining PLC. His name was last published in the company\u2019s 2014 annual <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.angloasianmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Anglo-Asian-Mining-plc-Annual-Report-2014.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> with 11.44 shares.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Azerbaijani businessman lives in Luxembourg. His name is in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azadliq.org\/a\/24263362.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">investigation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of RFE\/RL\u2019s Azerbaijani Service. In it, the disappearance of $109 million from the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) is revealed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the investigation, he is presented as an individual with many connections. And though the law of Azerbaijan did not allow dual citizenship, he was a citizen of both Azerbaijan and France at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vneshexpertservice.com\/clients\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Among<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the clients of his consulting company are the state-owned companies of Azerbaijan, including SOCAR. IBA was mentioned in the list of its partners. The bank cooperates with Anglo Asian Mining.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The list of managers of the company includes people with ties to the Azerbaijani authorities<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b>? Abduljabar Ahmadov, SOCAR employee<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ahmadov is the company\u2019s vice president for affairs with the government. He has worked in the oil industry since 1988, holding various senior positions at SOCAR.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">SOCAR is the state oil company of Azerbaijan, the profits of which are also used by Aliyev\u2019s family and close circle, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.occrp.org\/en\/corruptistan\/azerbaijan\/2015\/09\/01\/aliyev-family-friends-cruise-aboard-socar-super-yachts.en.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">for example<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, they travel for free on a yacht owned by the company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CBC Azerbaijan TV <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20201106100001\/http:\/\/socar.az\/socar\/en\/news-and-media\/news-archives\/news-archives\/2013\/04\/10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is owned by<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> SOCAR. It creates content in several languages, including Armenian. It spread state anti-Armenian propaganda, and during the 2020 war, it <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/media.am\/hy\/verified\/2020\/11\/06\/24959\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">broadcast<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> an extensive interview with prisoners of war captured by Azerbaijan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>? William Morgan and his offshore connections<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">William Morgan, the CEO of Anglo Asian Mining PLC, owns Holance Holdings Limited, which is registered offshore in the British Virgin Islands. According to the leak of Panama Papers, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/offshoreleaks.icij.org\/nodes\/10112698\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">it is connected<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the subsidiary of this mining company registered in the same offshore zone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In particular, Morgan Holance Holdings Limited is a shareholder in Anglo Asian Operations Limited, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.angloasianmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/2006_InterimResults.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a subsidiary<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of Anglo Asian Mining PLC.<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-26095 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Image-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1038\" height=\"569\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Image-4.png 1038w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Image-4-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Image-4-1024x561.png 1024w, https:\/\/media.am\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Image-4-768x421.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1038px) 100vw, 1038px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Source: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/offshoreleaks.icij.org\/nodes\/10112698\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ICIJ<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So what does this mean?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Azerbaijan was able to sell the licenses of three mines under the control of Armenian forces to an organization the owners of which conducts business in this country, is involved in corruption and is registered in the offshore zone. Its owners are Azerbaijanis, as well as citizens of the USA and Great Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back one of the three mines, and they entered the mine on the Karvachar-Gegharkunik border after the ceasefire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is noteworthy that the Nakhichevan mines included in the company\u2019s development plan have not been exploited yet. The tripartite <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.primeminister.am\/hy\/press-release\/item\/2020\/11\/10\/Announcement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">declaration<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of the ceasefire established the unblocking of all economic and transport ties in the region, according to which Azerbaijan will be connected to Nakhichevan through the territory of Armenia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><b>Arshaluys Barseghyan<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">* In the original version of the article, Kashen was written instead of Drmbon, which is wrong. In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.geokniga.org\/bookfiles\/geokniga-geologiya-sssr-tom-47-chast-2-poleznye-iskopaemye.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the sources<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of the Soviet period, there is an Armenian name of Gizilbulakhi \u2013 Drmbon (p. 238). However, it should be noted that neither the location of Drmbon nor Kashen corresponds to the location of the mine published by the company. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the early 2000s, Azerbaijan sold the licenses of three mines in Artsakh controlled by Armenian forces to a British company. Its multinational leadership has ties with the Azerbaijani elite, has been involved in corruption and has experience in public administration in their countries. On December 23, 2020, economist Hovhannes Avetisyan said during Sergey Danielyan\u2019s<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/verified\/2021\/01\/29\/26129\/\"> Read the full article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-verified","author_posts-arshaluys-barseghyan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26129"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26242,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26129\/revisions\/26242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}