World / Europe ‘Azerbaijan Laundromat’ used to pay off European politicians, report shows BL PREMIUM

London — Azerbaijan’s ruling elite ran a secret €2.5bn slush fund to pay off European politicians and launder money, according to an investigation by a group of European newspapers published on Tuesday. The fund operated for two years — 2012-14 — through bank accounts of four shell companies registered in Britain, according to the investigation by papers including The Guardian and France’s Le Monde, and published by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Nicknamed the "Azerbaijan Laundromat", the origin of the fund is unclear "but there is ample evidence of its connection to the family of President Ilham Aliyev", the report said. The authorities in Azerbaijan could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The Guardian said some of the money went to politicians and journalists as part of a "caviar diplomacy" lobbying effort to deflect criticism, at a time when the energy-rich former Soviet state was being accused of arresting rights activists and journalists and of vote-...