On 27 September, the London court presiding over the case of Zamira Hajiyeva refused to extradite her to Azerbaijan due to the fears that her legal rights in Azerbaijan might be subject to violations, reported the Caucasisan Knot. Judge Emma Arbatnot has expressed doubts about the independence of Azerbaijani courts and thus refused to extradite the suspect back to her country of origin upon which the Azerbaijani authorities insist.
On 26 June, the court in London acquired new documents revealing how Hajiyeva had led an exceptionally lavish lifestyle and spent over a decade making a fortune in the famous Knightsbridge department store, edging her extradition to Azerbaijan closer (Caucasus Watch reported). Hajiyeva is said to have been a member of an “organized criminal group” of 37 people involved in the misappropriation of $ 97 million (£ 76 million) by the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) between 2009 and 2015. Her husband, Jahangir Hajiyev, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and sentenced by the Court for Fraud, Corruption and Misappropriation of Public Funds in Baku for the repayment of $ 39 million. Hadjieva’s case was noted in the United Kingdom with the adoption of the Unexplainable Property Regulations (UWO, also called McMafia Regulation) in 2018.
