ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:

Contact: Danielle Saroyan

Telephone: (202) 393-3434

Web: www.aaainc.org

ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY URGES CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION OF WORLDWIDE
AZERBAIJANI CORRUPTION SCHEME

WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Today,
the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) sent a letter to the House
Oversight and Government Reform and House Select Committees on Intelligence
expressing concern regarding the undue influence of Azerbaijan’s caviar
diplomacy, especially given a recent report revealing the “Azerbaijani
Laundromat.”

In their letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey
Gowdy and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings alongside House Intelligence Chairman
David Nunes (R-CA) and Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA), Assembly Co-Chairs
Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian stated: “We are writing to bring to your
attention our serious concerns regarding Azerbaijan’s attempts to undermine
western democratic values and institutions, and the most recent revelations
that it ‘operated [a] secret $3bn slush fund,’ in Europe,” as reported in a
September 5, 2017 BBC article.

The scheme has been labeled the “Azerbaijani Laundromat” because of the
vast sums that passed through it were funds laundered by a series of shell
companies. According to an investigation of the Azerbaijani Laundromat published
by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), “from 2012 to
2014, even as the Azerbaijani government arrested activists and journalists
wholesale, members of the country’s ruling elite were using a secret slush fund
to pay off European politicians, buy luxury goods, launder money, and otherwise
benefit themselves.” 

“We should not turn a blind eye to Azerbaijan’s out of bounds and corrupt
influence on American democracy. Congress is familiar with the reasons why the
Aliyev autocracy is trying to whitewash its human rights record, resolve the
Nagorno Karabkah conflict by wiping out the Christian Armenian population, and
ally itself against United States values. Azerbaijan’s unprecedented April 2016
attacks against Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, where its ISIS-style mutilations
and beheadings of Armenians have gone without consequence, speak for
themselves. The recent revelations only confirm the vast amounts being spent to
corrupt officials from doing what their electorates expect,” Assembly Co-Chairs
Barsamian and Krikorian said.

The Assembly Co-Chairs concluded: “On Wednesday, the European Parliament
– voting   578 to 19 with 68 abstentions
– condemned Azerbaijan’s attempts to influence decision makers through illicit
means and authorized a deeper investigation of its behavior. We urge your
respective committees to do no less in factoring these new revelations in your
ongoing investigations.”

In prior letters written to the House and Senate this year, the Assembly
emphasized that: "we must ensure that Azerbaijan's rampant corrupt
practices do not compromise U.S. policies and objectives."

Click here to read the Armenian Assembly's letter to the House Oversight
and Government Reform and House Select Committees on Intelligence

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
membership organization.

###

NR# 2017-064

Available here: