Former first deputy prime minister Abbas Abbasov has been placed on a wanted list in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation led by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service, according to APA.

The decision was taken within the framework of the criminal case opened against Ramiz Mehdiyev, the former head of the Presidential Administration. Mehdiyev is charged with attempting to seize state power by force, treason, and laundering criminally obtained assets. On October 14, the Sabail District Court ordered Mehdiyev to be placed under four months of house arrest.

According to information obtained by APA, investigators have decided to formally involve Abbasov in the case after collecting evidence linking him to the alleged activities under investigation. As Abbasov is currently outside Azerbaijan and has allegedly evaded the investigation, law enforcement authorities have issued a search warrant.

Abbasov served as first deputy prime minister from 1992 to 2006 and chaired several state commissions during that period. After being dismissed from office in 2006, he moved to Russia, where he has lived since. Investigators claim that while in Russia, Abbasov engaged in activities aimed at gaining control over Azerbaijani diaspora structures through unlawful means and placing them under his influence.

The investigation also alleges that Abbasov was the founder and leader of the Union of Azerbaijani Organisations of Russia, established in 2012 and widely known as the “Union of Billionaires”. According to the case materials, the organisation was allegedly used to support the opposition National Council, with the aim of seizing power in Azerbaijan.

The head of the National Council, filmmaker Rustam Ibragimbekov, is said to have served as a member of the coordinating council of the Union of Billionaires under Abbasov’s leadership. Although Ibragimbekov publicly denied in 2012 that the organisation had political objectives, investigators argue that subsequent events in 2013 demonstrated the political nature of its activities.

It is further claimed that Abbasov ceased travelling regularly to Azerbaijan in early 2013, when the National Council was formed, allegedly out of concern that his actions could lead to criminal liability.

Investigators say that case materials include evidence of financial transfers allegedly sent to Azerbaijan through various channels, as well as audio and video recordings, promises made to participants in the alleged scheme, records of meetings held abroad, and materials relating to plans to forcibly change the constitutional order. According to the State Security Service, these materials have been added to the criminal case file and will be made public during open court hearings.

Within the same investigation, on December 1, Ali Karimli, chairman of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, and Mammad Ibrahim, a member of the party’s governing board, were arrested and remanded in custody. National Council member Gultekin Hajibeyli was detained in Turkey, and a decision was taken to deport her to Azerbaijan.

Those accused in the case deny the charges, describing the proceedings as politically motivated and ordered by the authorities.