Turkish Businessman Was Behind Purchase of Luxury London Residence For Azerbaijani Official’s Son
Turkish magnate Erdal Aksoy proudly describes himself as a fixer of major business deals between Turkey and Azerbaijan. His family is also behind a mystery shell company at the heart of a previous OCCRP investigation.
Key Findings
- A new corporate filing reveals that the offshore company Vremax Properties Limited is owned by the family of Erdal Aksoy. A previous OCCRP investigation found that Vremax bought the luxury London residence of Juma Ahmadzada, the son of Azerbaijani official Ahmad Ahmadzada.
- Ahmad Ahmadzada, Erdal Aksoy, and Turkish construction magnate Mehmet Cengiz were all involved in a major dam-building project in Azerbaijan. Cengiz’s company paid $3 million to Vremax Properties after it won a tender to build the dam.
- A book and film on Erdal Aksoy’s life reveal his links to Azerbaijan’s political elite, including the President and the official who oversaw the dam’s construction.
To a melodic piano soundtrack, the subject of a biopic titled “Life Is All About Solving Problems” strolls the shore of the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. Neatly dressed in a suit and tie, he takes a seat in front of the city’s Government House and tells the filmmakers how he helped Azerbaijan “open up to the rest of the world.”
“Whenever Azerbaijan had a problematic situation to be solved… people would say, ‘Let’s refer this to Mr. Erdal. He can handle it,’” he says.
“Mr. Erdal” is prominent Turkish businessman Erdal Aksoy. In a reverential 2022 documentary about his life and career, featured on the YouTube channel of his family business Aksoy Holding, he promotes himself as an influential power broker who helps make deals between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
But a recent corporate filing to the U.K.’s offshore ownership registry has shed new light on a series of transactions that don’t feature in any film, and fill in the missing piece of a puzzle left over from a previous OCCRP investigation.
The filing, required under new U.K. transparency legislation, shows for the first time that a member of the Aksoy family owns a shell company called Vremax Properties Limited, which was at the heart of a 2020 OCCRP story.
