Despite NBA's ban, money transfers via MoneyGram system continued in Azerbaijan

The newspaper had on hand the cheques, issued by a post office, about conduction of monetary transfers by this system, dated August 11 and 12, when the ban of the head bank of the country was still in power.

It means that the communication enterprises ignored the prohibition of the National Bank of Azerbaijan and carried operations by the system of transfers, which challenged the sovereignty of Azerbaijan, against the interests of  the Azerbaijani statehood.

At the same time, according to an official of the post office, the operations via MoneyGram did not stop.

According to spokesman for the National Bank of Azerbaijan Kamran Nazarli, the National Bank has officially expressed its attitude to these events, posting the decision passed on its website. In particular, the National Bank of Azerbaijan resumed operations with WesternUnion and MoneyGram systems from August 14 of 2008. According to the internationa, posted on the website of the head bank of the country, on July 30 of 2008, the National Bank prohibited the Azerbaijani banks to hold operations in the framework of these monetary transfers system. As is known, the prohibition was applied due to the information about the cooperation of these monetary systems with Khankendi (Nagorno Karabakh).

Western Union website has previously showed that four Armenian banks received and sent monetary transfers in "Stepanakert". At the same time, the website fixes that this city is the so-called "capital" of the unrecognized "Nagorno Karabakh Republic".

As is noted, vice president of Western Union Johnathan Knaus who visited Baku on August 7, recognized that on the whole, the operations on monetary transfers in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan are illegal during the meeting with his Azerbaijani colleagues. At the same time, he undertook responsibility for averting such cases in the future. The same responsibility was also taken by MoneyGram. Therefore, the National bank of Azerbaijan lifted the ban on conducting operations.

In turn, according to deputy Panah Huseyn, the MoneyGram system was allowed to hold operations in Azerbaijan earlier than Western Union as this company guaranteed correction of the mistake. "Anyway, if the National Bank of Azerbaijan had banned conduction of operations via this system of transfers, non-observance of this requirement is odd. If operations were carried during the ban, the official circles should clarify the issue".

earlier, as head of the postal department of Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies Novruz Mamedov noted, "we have not concluded a contract on monetary transfers directly with Western Union. The monetary transfers by this system were conducted by the line of Parabank (which is an official distributor of the monetary transfer system in Azerbaijan)". As for MoneyGram, Mamedov said the postal system in Azerbaijan in fact does not operate with this transfer system. "We have conducted the e-transfers in the framework of the international transfers system of the World Postal Union, called Stefi. We have contracts with 7 countries in the framework of this system and we plan to expand this net of cooperation.

The Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies was unable to explain the origin of the cheques.

As was repeatedly noted, "operation" of some companies, dealing with monetary transfers in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, contradicts to international law and is, therefore, illegal. Therefore, after the reaction of the Azerbaijani side, these companies have suspended their activity in the territory of Nagorno Karabakh. But nongovernmental circles are concerned that this step can be taken temporarily to calm down the Azerbaijani side. These companies may resume such illegal activity after Azerbaijan calms down. In order to fully avert such illegal activity, Azerbaijan should develop a single concept. Specialists consider it necessary to carry out a coordinated work between the state structures, in particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and on the level of a parliament. The importance of allocating funds for financing mechanism of reveal, filing a claim against the companied, operating in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan and challenging the country's territorial integrity, was stressed.

Echo