Azerbaijan shareholder takes bus station dispute to European court

A former shareholder in an Azerbaijani bus station has taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming local officials and courts illegally stripped him of his stake.

Valeh Aliyev, who held a 14.1% stake in Salyan Avtovağzalı (Salyan Bus Station), alleges that his shares were deleted in 2022 during a forced liquidation of the joint-stock company.

He claims the move was part of a wider effort by the majority shareholder and local authorities to cover up hundreds of thousands of manats in tax evasion.

Mr Aliyev said he was denied financial reports and dividend payments for years by the majority shareholder, Nureddin Melikov, who owned an 84.4% stake.

"We had the right to demand quarterly and annual reports, but this was denied," Mr Aliyev said. "During my own investigation, I found around 50 shops, a market, and bus routes operating on the site, with an estimated annual turnover of 500,000 manats (£228,000)."

According to Mr Aliyev, the company paid between 500 and 1,500 manats in profit tax annually, instead of the 70,000 to 80,000 manats he calculated was owed to the state.

He submitted his findings to the State Tax Service in 2020. An initial assessment by consultancy firm MBA LTD valued the assets on the site at 450,000 manats (£205,000).

However, Mr Aliyev claims the final report was altered to show tax evasion of just 47,700 manats (£21,700)—deliberately keeping it under the 50,000-manat threshold that triggers an automatic criminal prosecution.

During subsequent proceedings at the Shirvan Commercial Court, the audit report was discarded. A second valuation by another firm, PREMIUM MMC, drastically reduced the estimated monthly income of the site to just 1,524 manats.

Mr Aliyev also claimed that 1.2 hectares of land belonging to the bus station was quietly transferred to Mr Melikov by Sevindik Hatamov, the former head of the Salyan District Executive Power.

In 2022, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and the National Depository Centre removed the Aliyev family's shares from circulation before a final court ruling on bankruptcy was made. The company was then liquidated.

The Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency confirmed the transport entity was liquidated in 2022 and replaced by a private company, HN Trans MMC, which now runs the same services.

Independent legal experts say the case reflects broader, systemic issues within the country's economy.

Lawyer Ruslan Aliyev, who is not related to the shareholder, said that chaotic privatisation processes dating back to the post-Soviet era continue to undermine property rights.

"Property has become concentrated in the hands of a narrow elite, while real revenues are hidden," he said.

"In some cases, enterprises are deliberately shown as loss-making to avoid taxes and prevent minority shareholders from receiving dividends."

The State Tax Service, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Justice, and the local executive authority in Salyan did not respond to requests for comment.A former shareholder in an Azerbaijani bus station has taken his case to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming local officials and courts illegally stripped him of his stake.

Valeh Aliyev, who held a 14.1% stake in Salyan Avtovağzalı (Salyan Bus Station), alleges that his shares were deleted in 2022 during a forced liquidation of the joint-stock company.

He claims the move was part of a wider effort by the majority shareholder and local authorities to cover up hundreds of thousands of manats in tax evasion.

Mr Aliyev said he was denied financial reports and dividend payments for years by the majority shareholder, Nureddin Melikov, who owned an 84.4% stake.

"We had the right to demand quarterly and annual reports, but this was denied," Mr Aliyev said. "During my own investigation, I found around 50 shops, a market, and bus routes operating on the site, with an estimated annual turnover of 500,000 manats (£228,000)."

According to Mr Aliyev, the company paid between 500 and 1,500 manats in profit tax annually, instead of the 70,000 to 80,000 manats he calculated was owed to the state.

He submitted his findings to the State Tax Service in 2020. An initial assessment by consultancy firm MBA LTD valued the assets on the site at 450,000 manats (£205,000).

However, Mr Aliyev claims the final report was altered to show tax evasion of just 47,700 manats (£21,700)—deliberately keeping it under the 50,000-manat threshold that triggers an automatic criminal prosecution.

During subsequent proceedings at the Shirvan Commercial Court, the audit report was discarded. A second valuation by another firm, PREMIUM MMC, drastically reduced the estimated monthly income of the site to just 1,524 manats.

Mr Aliyev also claimed that 1.2 hectares of land belonging to the bus station was quietly transferred to Mr Melikov by Sevindik Hatamov, the former head of the Salyan District Executive Power.

In 2022, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and the National Depository Centre removed the Aliyev family's shares from circulation before a final court ruling on bankruptcy was made. The company was then liquidated.

The Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency confirmed the transport entity was liquidated in 2022 and replaced by a private company, HN Trans MMC, which now runs the same services.

Independent legal experts say the case reflects broader, systemic issues within the country's economy.

Lawyer Ruslan Aliyev, who is not related to the shareholder, said that chaotic privatisation processes dating back to the post-Soviet era continue to undermine property rights.

"Property has become concentrated in the hands of a narrow elite, while real revenues are hidden," he said.

"In some cases, enterprises are deliberately shown as loss-making to avoid taxes and prevent minority shareholders from receiving dividends."

The State Tax Service, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Justice, and the local executive authority in Salyan did not respond to requests for comment.