Report by the Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan
In the first half of 2026, the Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan identified financial violations and shortcomings worth a total of 160.3 million manats ($94.3m) following state financial oversight activities.
The figures were published in the chamber’s report on its activities for the first six months of the year and were also reported by several media outlets.
The chamber said it had ordered the recovery of 35 million manats ($20.5m) linked to the identified violations. Materials concerning violations worth 14.8 million manats ($8.71m) were referred to law enforcement agencies. The remaining 110.5 million manats ($65m) were classified as “other violations.”
During the reporting period, the chamber carried out 33 oversight activities, including 20 compliance audits, two financial audits, eight performance audits and three analytical reviews.
The audits covered the sectors of education, capital investment, public administration, water supply and irrigation, agriculture, and social protection. Twenty-one of the audited entities were inspected for the first time.
Comparison with previous years
These figures are significantly higher than those reported for the same period in previous years. In the first half of 2024, the Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan identified financial violations worth 91 million manats ($53.5m). In the first half of 2025, the figure was estimated at around 65–70 million manats ($38–42m). For the whole of 2025, the chamber reported violations totaling 1.554 billion manats ($915m).
The 160.3 million manats ($94.3m) recorded in the first six months of 2026 is higher than the figures for the corresponding periods of both 2024 and 2025. This may reflect an increase in the number of audits or an expansion in the scope of inspections. At the same time, the data suggests that the scale of detected violations has not decreased.
The public classification of the identified violations remains limited. Reports from previous years, particularly for 2025, showed that the largest share involved breaches of budget legislation, accounting for around 50%, while violations of public procurement rules made up about 24%.
The data for the first half of 2026 does not provide a category-by-category breakdown of the violations. It only identifies the sectors covered by the audits, including capital investment, education and social protection. Previous reports indicate that audits in the construction and public procurement sectors have repeatedly uncovered violations such as inflated project costs, breaches of contract terms and improper documentation.
The role of the Accounts Chamber and the impact of its reports
The Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan is the country’s highest external public financial oversight body. Its reports are submitted to the Milli Majlis and, in principle, can influence the budget process. In practice, however, a significant share of the identified violations is classified as “other violations.”
Of the total 160.3 million manats ($94.3m) in identified violations, the chamber ordered the recovery of funds in only 35 million manats ($20.5m), or about 22% of the total. Materials relating to violations worth 14.8 million manats ($8.71m), around 9%, were referred to law enforcement agencies. The fate of the remaining amount has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear what action, if any, was taken by the relevant institutions or whether any officials were held accountable.
The issue appears to be systemic. Reports from previous years reveal a similar pattern: while violations involving substantial sums have been identified, the amount of recovered funds and the scale of legal action have remained limited. The same types of irregularities continue to be recorded year after year in public procurement, construction projects and the management of public funds, including incomplete documentation, inefficient spending and breaches of contract terms.
The chamber has also repeatedly pointed to weaknesses in internal audit mechanisms. However, the limited public discussion of its reports and the lack of detailed disclosure reduce the practical impact of state financial oversight.
Against the backdrop of Karabakh reconstruction and major government programmes
In recent years, funds allocated for the reconstruction of territories retaken from Armenian control have accounted for a significant share of Azerbaijan’s state budget spending. Billions of manats have been earmarked for capital investment under the Great Return programme and other large-scale government initiatives.
Notably, some of the violations identified in the first half of 2026 were linked to capital investment projects. However, the report does not specify which projects were involved, the sums affected or the nature of the violations.
This makes questions of transparency and the efficient use of public funds even more pressing. The risks of misuse or inefficient spending are particularly significant in large infrastructure and social projects, as these investments are directly tied to the return of displaced residents, the restoration of living conditions and the long-term development of the region.
The absence of a separate, detailed assessment of these programmes in the Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan report—or the lack of public disclosure of such information—makes it difficult to objectively assess the risks involved.
Why do the violations recur year after year?
The repeated discovery of financial violations involving large sums may be explained by several factors.
First, insufficient oversight and weak internal audit mechanisms.
Second, a lack of transparency in public procurement and construction projects.
Third, limited accountability. A significant share of the identified violations does not result in disciplinary or legal action against individual officials or the institutions involved.
Based on publicly available information, it is not possible to clearly distinguish between corruption, poor management and procedural violations. However, the scale of the violations and their repeated occurrence suggest that the problem is systemic rather than isolated.
In this context, the limited public scrutiny of the Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan’s reports is also significant. As a rule, the full reports, the names of specific projects, the list of audited institutions and detailed information about the identified violations are not made public. This limits opportunities for independent analysis and public oversight.
What does this mean for the public?
The 160.3 million manats ($94.3m) in identified violations involve public funds financed through taxpayers’ money and other state revenues. If part of these funds was spent in breach of financial rules, it means that the money could otherwise have been used for education, healthcare, social protection or infrastructure projects. The recovery of 35 million manats ($20.5m) represents a positive step, but the lack of clarity over the remaining amount raises further questions.
The findings underscore the need for greater transparency, stronger independent audit mechanisms and broader public scrutiny of audit reports.
Key questions remain unanswered: which institutions and projects were responsible for the violations; what became of the 110.5 million manats ($65m) classified as “other violations”; what concrete outcomes resulted from referring cases to law enforcement agencies; and what systemic measures, if any, will be introduced to prevent similar problems from recurring in the same sectors.
Report by the Accounts Chamber of Azerbaijan