Deputy Foreign Minister's Brother's Company Awarded 1.4 Million Manat Contract to Restore Historic Building in Shusha

The Shusha State Reserve Administration has awarded a 1,379,100 manat (approximately US$810,000) contract for the restoration and major renovation of the historic "Zargar Mammad House" in Shusha.

According to Azerbaijan's Unified Public Procurement Portal, the winning bidder was Agroman LLC. Established in 2020 with a registered capital of just 10 manat, the company is legally represented by Muzadil Rafiyev, the brother of Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev.

Official procurement records show that since 2023, Agroman LLC has secured 15 government contracts worth more than 16.1 million manat. Its largest contracts relate to the renovation of residential buildings in Khanabad village, Khojaly District, with a combined value exceeding 8.5 million manat. The company has also carried out government-funded construction and infrastructure projects in Shusha and Aghdam.

Previous investigations by independent media found that other companies linked to Muzadil Rafiyev had also received multimillion-manat government contracts. Among them, Laguna Group LLC signed contracts worth more than 613,000 manat with the Shusha State Reserve Administration. The investigations also noted that the company's registered address coincides with the official registered address of Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev.

Muzadil Rafiyev has previously denied that his brother has any involvement in the companies' activities.