The Main Cybercrime Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has carried out a large-scale operation against members of the group that organizes online gambling in the social media segment of Azerbaijan.
Oku.Az reports that this was reported by the Press Service of the Ministry of the Interior (MIA).
Thus, by analyzing criminal behavior recorded in the country’s virtual space, employees of the General Administration determined that pages opened under various anonymous names on the social network “Instagram” attract citizens to online gambling. After obtaining initial evidence of the involvement of a group of people organized into a gang in this illegal activity, comprehensive operational and technical measures were carried out around the gang for 3 months.
It was established that Elmidar Ismayilzadeh, born in 1999, and Eldeniz Ismayilov, born in 1974, who headed the gang, involved about 30 people in their criminal activities and organized online gambling. Members of the criminal network opened numerous pages on social networks using mobile numbers from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and other countries to ensure privacy and lured citizens into gambling on websites of foreign countries with various tempting promises.
The main members of the network, who gained the status of direct administrators of such illegal sites as “Fast Loto”, “CHCPlay”, established a multifaceted virtual management system in the country and operated in the form of mobile groups in the apartments they rented and periodically modified, on the instructions of Elmidar Ismayilzade and Eldeniz Ismayilov. The people called “victims” of gambling transferred the funds to bank cards sent to them by the gangsters. During the operation, 1,157 bank cards were purchased from individual citizens for different amounts and used in criminal activities. Those who presented their cards to the gangsters were not aware of their true intentions. According to court decisions, during the inspection of secret offices, apartments and storage places used by the gang members, numerous electronic evidence, bank cards, 110 mobile phone numbers from foreign countries documented under false names, cash worth 2,000,000 manats and other material evidence were found.
Investigations have shown that more than 20,000,000 manats were deposited in the bank accounts used by the network in the name of third parties. It is also known that the network uses money laundering schemes to put large amounts of money obtained through crime into legal circulation. Thus, Rovshan Mammadov, born in 1988, who organized funds acquired through crime in cryptocurrency and sent them to foreign countries, was identified and detained. During the search of his office and the apartment where he lived, a lot of material evidence was discovered and taken away. The investigation revealed that the gang sent 3,375,000 manats of money to foreign countries in the form of cryptocurrency.
During the investigation, 25 apartments, plots of land, houses with gardens, commercial premises, luxury cars “Mercedes Gelendvagen”, “Lexus”, “Range Rover” worth a total of AZN 10,000,000 were found, purchased by members of the network with illegally obtained funds. Those identified and ordered by court decisions were detained.
244-1.3.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (organization of gambling by an organized group using information resources of the Internet or information and telecommunication networks), 193-1.3.1 and 193-1.3.2 (a crime committed by an organized group) the legalization of a large amount of property obtained through a criminal case was initiated and preventive measures were taken against 9 persons who headed the network. Legal proceedings have been initiated to bring the gang members hiding abroad into the country and bring them to justice. The necessary operational, investigative and operational-technical measures are being continued to identify other members of the gang.
Millions of manats, more than a thousand bank cards, 25 apartments – SHOCK OPERATION in Azerbaijan
