Azerbaijani public prosecutor sought 15 years in prison for Akif Chovdarov, former head of the main energy and transport security directorate under the liquidated Ministry of National Security (MNS).  

The prosecutor motioned for the former official’s imprisonment along with the deprivation of his ranks, honorary titles, and right to hold a senior position for three years, APA reports.

According to the materials, Akif Chovdarov embezzled 2 million 917,000 manat (over $2 million) allocated by the state for supporting the agent network. According to the statement of the Azerbaijani National Security Service (NSS), the money belonged to it as an organization which succeeded the MNS. NSS demands that this money be collected from Chovdarov and be returned to the NSS account.

During the preliminary investigation, A. Chovdarov did not plead guilty on the charges brought against him, stating that he spent the money for supporting the agent network.