Azerbaijan Oil Junket: 10 Members of U.S. Congress Took Trip Secretly Funded by Baku

16:30, May 14, 2015

According to a confidential ethics report obtained by The Washington Post, SOCAR (the state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan) funded an all-expenses paid trip to Baku in 2013 for ten members of the U.S. Congress and 32 staff member to a conference in Baku.

The 70 page report by the Office of Congressional Ethics claims that SOCAR allegedly funneled $750,000 through nonprofit corporations in the U.S. to conceal the source of the funding.

The conference, titled "U.S.- Azerbaijan Convention: Vision for the Future," took place on May 28 and 29, 2013.

During the previous year, SOCAR and several large energy companies sought exemptions for a $28 billion natural gas pipeline project in the Caspian Sea from U.S. economic sanctions being imposed on Iran.  Read more... (200 words)

Armenian News