DESPITE NBA’S BAN, MONEY TRANSFERS VIA MONEYGRAM SYSTEM CONTINUED IN AZERBAIJAN
Today.Az
16 August 2008
Azerbaijan
Despite the ban of the National Bank of Azerbaijan, local post offices
still conducted monetary transfers via MoneyGram system.
The newspaper had on hand the cheques, issued by a post office, about
conduction of monetary transfers by this system, dated August 11 and
12, when the ban of the head bank of the country was still in power.
It means that the communication enterprises ignored the prohibition
of the National Bank of Azerbaijan and carried operations by the
system of transfers, which challenged the sovereignty of Azerbaijan,
against the interests of the Azerbaijani statehood.
At the same time, according to an official of the post office, the
operations via MoneyGram did not stop.
According to spokesman for the National Bank of Azerbaijan Kamran
Nazarli, the National Bank has officially expressed its attitude
to these events, posting the decision passed on its website. In
particular, the National Bank of Azerbaijan resumed operations with
WesternUnion and MoneyGram systems from August 14 of 2008. According
to the internationa, posted on the website of the head bank of
the country, on July 30 of 2008, the National Bank prohibited
the Azerbaijani banks to hold operations in the framework of these
monetary transfers system. As is known, the prohibition was applied
due to the information about the cooperation of these monetary systems
with Khankendi (Nagorno Karabakh).
Western Union website has previously showed that four Armenian banks
received and sent monetary transfers in "Stepanakert". At the same
time, the website fixes that this city is the so-called "capital"
of the unrecognized "Nagorno Karabakh Republic".
As is noted, vice president of Western Union Johnathan Knaus who
visited Baku on August 7, recognized that on the whole, the operations
on monetary transfers in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan are illegal
during the meeting with his Azerbaijani colleagues. At the same time,
he undertook responsibility for averting such cases in the future. The
same responsibility was also taken by MoneyGram. Therefore, the
National bank of Azerbaijan lifted the ban on conducting operations.
In turn, according to deputy Panah Huseyn, the MoneyGram system was
allowed to hold operations in Azerbaijan earlier than Western Union
as this company guaranteed correction of the mistake. "Anyway, if
the National Bank of Azerbaijan had banned conduction of operations
via this system of transfers, non-observance of this requirement is
odd. If operations were carried during the ban, the official circles
should clarify the issue".
earlier, as head of the postal department of Ministry of Communication
and Information Technologies Novruz Mamedov noted, "we have not
concluded a contract on monetary transfers directly with Western
Union. The monetary transfers by this system were conducted by the
line of Parabank (which is an official distributor of the monetary
transfer system in Azerbaijan)". As for MoneyGram, Mamedov said
the postal system in Azerbaijan in fact does not operate with this
transfer system. "We have conducted the e-transfers in the framework
of the international transfers system of the World Postal Union,
called Stefi. We have contracts with 7 countries in the framework of
this system and we plan to expand this net of cooperation.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies was unable
to explain the origin of the cheques.
As was repeatedly noted, "operation" of some companies, dealing with
monetary transfers in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, contradicts to
international law and is, therefore, illegal. Therefore, after the
reaction of the Azerbaijani side, these companies have suspended their
activity in the territory of Nagorno Karabakh. But nongovernmental
circles are concerned that this step can be taken temporarily to
calm down the Azerbaijani side. These companies may resume such
illegal activity after Azerbaijan calms down. In order to fully
avert such illegal activity, Azerbaijan should develop a single
concept. Specialists consider it necessary to carry out a coordinated
work between the state structures, in particular, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and on the level of a parliament. The importance of
allocating funds for financing mechanism of reveal, filing a claim
against the companied, operating in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan
and challenging the country’s territorial integrity, was stressed.