In Azerbaijan, media outlets that are directly controlled and financed by the government regularly target independent media organizations such as AbzasMedia, Toplum TV, Meydan TV, and others by publishing reports during ongoing investigations that accuse them of smuggling. These outlets share information that can only be obtained through the investigation process, presenting it as evidence, and conduct smear campaigns against those individuals.
However, according to the law, the dissemination of such information during an ongoing investigation is prohibited. Even witnesses questioned in these cases are required to sign a “Non-Disclosure Agreement” to ensure that the secrecy of the investigation is maintained.
Among the channels producing such reports, Baku TV stands out. We investigated where this channel gets its funding and who controls it.
The first claim came from a pro-government journalist
Tural Museyibov, a well-known pro-government journalist and former head of press services at several Azerbaijani state institutions, has made interesting claims about the supermarket chain Bolmart, its owner Adnan Ahmadzade, and Baku TV.
He stated that Bolmart is known to be associated with Adnan Ahmadzade, just like the Rahat Market chain.
“I want to mention one fact. When I used to work at Baku TV, I once shared a critical report about Bolmart without knowing its background. The management called me and said, ‘That belongs to us.’ They stopped the report from airing. This shows that Bolmart is indeed linked to Adnan Ahmadzade,” said Tural Museyibov at the end of his video.
Who owns the Rahat and Bolmart market chains?
According to financial reports published in open sources, the sole shareholder of Bolmart LLC is a company called Pro-Mart LLC. As of December 2022, Pro-Mart had two shareholders: AZ Fast Moving Business LLC and Unitrade Group LLC.
Since information about company founders and shareholders has been classified as a commercial secret under Azerbaijani law since 2012, Meydan TV was unable to determine the real owners of these companies.
However, photos on Bolmart’s official website show Adnan Ahmadzade as the key figure at the opening of the company’s Nakhchivan branch. Additionally, the Report News Agency has featured him together with another supermarket chain, Rahat Market.
According to Rahat Market’s official website, the chain belongs to ANC Group LLC. The founder of ANC Group LLC is officially listed as Adnan Azer oglu Ahmadzade. The Port Baku Bazar supermarket also belongs to this group. Ahmadzade is additionally the founder of the CarsCharge charging station network.
Reminder about Adnan Ahmadzade
Sentyabrın 20-də SOCAR-ın rəhbər vəzifələrində çalışmış, neft maqnatı sayılan Adnan Əhmədzadə barəsində Səbail Rayon Məhkəməsi 4 aylıq həbs qətimkan tədbiri seçdi. DTX-nın apardığı cinayət işi çərçivəsində A.Əhmədzadə iqtisadi təhlükəsizliyə qarşı təxribat və xüsusilə külli miqdarda mənimsəmədə ittiham olunur.
Cinayət Məcəlləsinin müvafiq maddələrinə görə, xüsusilə külli miqdarda mənimsəmə 10 ildən 14 ilədək azadlıqdan məhrumetmə ilə cəzalandırıla bilər.
Adnan Əhmədzadə istər Azərbaycan, istərsə də xarici mediada bahalı və lüks həyat tərzi ilə tanınır.
A.Əhmədzadənin Azərbaycan, Türkiyə, Malta, İspaniya, İngiltərə, Birləşmiş Ərəb Əmirlikləri və Luksemburqda bir neçə şirkəti mövcuddur. Şirkətlərin böyük əksəriyyəti neft-qaz sektoru ilə əlaqədardır.
Əhmədzadə Azərbaycanın neft sənayesinin inkişafındakı xidmətlərinə görə 2015-ci ildə Prezident İlham Əliyev tərəfindən “Tərəqqi” medalı ilə təltif olunub.
Əhmədzadə 2006-cı ildən SOCAR-ın Marketing və İqtisadi Əməliyyatlar İdarəsinin rəisi olub, “SOCAR-Trading”ə rəhbərlik edib.
Araşdırmaçı jurnalistlər Adnan Əhmədzadə və ailəsinin sərvətinin Azərbaycan neftindən əldə olunan qeyri-qanuni gəlirlər sayəsində əldə etdiyini bildirirlər.
Who owns and runs Baku TV?
Although Baku TV was founded in 2018 by blogger Orkhan Aliakbar oglu Mammadov, its current director is Ramin Natig oglu Jafarov, who previously headed a department at Space TV. However, the person who actually manages and oversees the channel is Elnur Nazim oglu Abdullayev.
In official documents, Baku TV is listed under Global Media Group LLC. The current legal representative of Global Media Group is also Elnur Abdullayev. Media outlets within Global Media Group include Baku TV, Haber Global, Report News Agency, Media.az, Oxu.az, Baku.ws, Caliber.az, and Kaspi Newspaper.
In the press, Elnur Abdullayev is known as an associate of former Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov. In 2015, he was appointed head of the State Road Transport Service of the Ministry of Transport by Ziya Mammadov’s order. Before that, Abdullayev was the General Director of the Intelligent Transport Management Center LLC.
In 2020, Abdullayev was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan by President Ilham Aliyev for his contributions to the development of mass media in the country.
Elnur Abdullayev is known to be one of Adnan Ahmadzade’s closest friends. Orkhan Mammadov also has close ties with Ahmadzade. These relationships are visible in their Instagram accounts.
A little about report…
Although Report claims to be an independent news agency that quickly delivers the most important events in the country to its readers, it did not share any information or news about one of the most high-profile events, the detention and arrest of Adnan Ahmadzade, even though it was covered by international and local media outlets.
Previously, even pro-government media sources reported that Report News Agency was created with investment and support from SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
