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ElhanSuleymanov – a good friend of the Azerbaijani president IlhamAliyev – is the head of the Azerbaijani lobbying in the Council of Europe, Paolo Mondani, journalist of the Italian TV channel Rai 3, reports in his program dedicated to Azerbaijan’s so-called “Caviar diplomacy.” 

According to the information, on Suleymanov’s initiative, Italian politician Luca Volontè – former head of the European People's Party faction in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) – received bribe from the Azerbaijani government in an amount equal to 2 million and 390 thousand euros for conducting activities in the interests of the Azerbaijani authorities.

German deputy of the council of Europe, Christoph Strässer, remembers that in 2013, after his report on the Azerbaijani political prisoners had been vetoed, Suleymanov stood up and began to shout: “Do you see, this is not the Council of Europe, which belongs to Mr. Strässer?This is the Council of Europe, which belongs to Azerbaijan.”

In May 2013, Azerbaijani lobbyist Muslim Mammadovoffered Luca Volontèto convince Pedro Agramunt to join his line of the European People’s Party (EPP group).

It is also noted in the program that during the PACE hearings, Armenian MP Naira Karapetyan tried to voice Luca Volontè’s corrupt relationship with Azerbaijan, however, Pedro Agramunt – chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe –impeded it in every possible way.

The same was during another Armenian MP Naira Zohrabyan’s speech during the free discussion in PACE held on October 14. The member of the Armenian delegation started to speak about corruption, lobbying in PACE, and covered the topic concerning the corruptibility of the Assembly’s deputies. Then, the Armenian parliamentarian addressed Luca Volontè’s issue, who was the former chairman of the European People’s Party in PACE. Hearing Volontè’s name, Pedro Agramunt turned off Zohrabyan’s microphone, however, the parliamentarian started to speak as loudly as possible. “You are also Azerbaijan’s lobbyist, likeVolontè,” N. Zohrabyan said.

From 2013 to 2014, Volontè received money through false accounts with the help of British organizations. The names of the leadership of organizations LCM, HILUX, POLUX, and METASTAR are anonymous. With their help and through Azerbaijani telecommunications company Baktelekom, the money was credited to the accounts of the following funds: LGV (390 thousands euros) and «Novae Terrae» (2 million euros),which belonged to the Italian diplomat.

To the reporter’s question about why the money was credited to his organization’s account, Volontèanswered that “he does not know.” The parliamentarian “did not also know” that he was suspected of anything.

Besides, the «Novae Terrae» fund received “donations” in an annual amount of 1 million euro for a period of ten years. It turns out that Volontèreceived 10 million euro from Azerbaijan, particularly from ElhanSuleymanov, although the rules of the Council of Europe do let the parliamentarians receive presents from the representatives of foreign states.