On 4 February,  the Azerbaijani National Security Service (NSS) arrested the country’s former Minister for Labour and Social Protection Salim Muslimov on charges of large-scale bribery and abuse of office, reported Trend.  

The NSS emphasised that it had investigated evidence of abuse and improper use of powers by Muslumov during his service as a minister (2013-2018) in the spheres of rehabilitation and social protection of the disabled and children with disabilities, the implementation of the state control over activities of employers in the fields of labour, employment and social protection issues.

As part of the criminal case launched on the basis of the collected materials, the investigative bodies revealed that Muslimov deliberately used his official powers for obtaining illegal privileges. The investigative bodies revealed that he claimed and received part of the funds allocated to individuals and legal entities who constructed and repaired private residential houses and boarding houses for the disabled in various districts through using officials subordinate to him as intermediaries.

The service said that it received tip-offs that Muslimov had repeatedly taken large-scale bribes to ensure positive inspection results carried out by the ministry's State Labour Inspection Service. These inspections occur during the construction and remodeling of industrial, social and domestic and other facilities to ensure their compliance with labour protection requirements and issuing permits for their commissioning. The investigative bodies also revealed that Muslimov repeatedly received from 10,000 ($5,882) to 30,000 ($17,647) manat in the form of bribes for good inspection results from each head of the ministry's various territorial branches.