This time, four Azerbaijani entrepreneurs were arrested in the Leningrad region on charges of bribing local police officials.
According to Russian media reports, the operation began with the arrest of Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Korotkov, head of the 128th police department in the Vsevolozhsky district of the Leningrad region. Last week, he was detained by officers of a special unit of the FSB.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the police chief is accused of receiving bribes of at least 3.7 million rubles from Azerbaijani businessmen “in exchange for turning a blind eye to their illegal business activities.” Colonel Roman Kamerzhanov, head of the 87th police department in the same district, and Alexei Peremibeda, head of the 97th police department, were also arrested.

The investigation believes that they received bribes from businessmen who were engaged in “illegal business activities” in the Leningrad region.

According to the information available, the Azerbaijani businessmen are accused of “selling contraband alcohol and tobacco, as well as employing illegal migrants.”

The detained Azerbaijani businessmen, Vusal Orujov, Ibadat Ismailov, Asif Allahverdiyev, and Arastun Talibov, are accused of giving bribes to the detained law enforcement officers. The detainees have been remanded in custody until September 9.
Asif Allahverdiyev, who was detained, objects to the charges against him. “I don't understand how I ended up here. I don't understand the situation either,” Allahverdiyev said during the trial.

According to him, he only knows Orujov, who is his partner.

According to experts, these arrests could be seen as systematic pressure on the Azerbaijani diaspora amid tense relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.