Azernews.Az

By Trend

Azerbaijan will send an appeal to the relevant international courts on economic disputes in connection with illegal mining of minerals in Azerbaijan’s occupied lands, reads a joint statement of the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office and AzerGold CJSC.

The research revealed that managers of the Vallex Group, Base Metals, ACP, Lerna Metalurgiayi Institute, Teghout and other companies registered in Armenia and other countries, as well as individuals, repeatedly illegally crossed Azerbaijan’s state border from Armenia, and created facilities together with other persons in the occupied territories.

It was established that they also received illegal income from the extraction of a large quantity of gold and other non-ferrous metals at the fields in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar district, the fields of Zangilan, Tartar district and other fields.

During the investigation, using the high-definition imagery of the Azersky satellite of Azerkosmos OJSC and the geological survey data, the facts of conducting illegal mining operations at ore deposits located in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories were proved.

Regarding these facts, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office launched a criminal case under articles 192.2.3 (illegal entrepreneurship) and 318.2 (illegal crossing of Azerbaijan’s state border). The preliminary investigation was entrusted to the Investigation Department for Grave Crimes of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

At the same time, by attracting experts of audit companies regarding the theft of gold and other non-ferrous metals in Azerbaijan, the country will apply together with AzerGold CJSC to the relevant international court on economic disputes, as well as law enforcement agencies of countries where the companies engaged in illegal mining were registered.

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