The Sentry is an investigative and policy organization that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy.

November 2024

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Leyla Aliyeva and Arzu Aliyeva, the daughters of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, sit atop a kleptocratic family empire comprising a network of businesses and assets spanning more than 12 countries. Their empire, valued at more than 13 billion dollars, has enabled them to amass an enormous personal fortune, all while their father has simultaneously ruled with an iron fist, stifling civic spaces and the rights and freedoms of Azerbaijanis.

The Sentry’s recently launched “Aliyev Empire” project exposes the kleptocratic networks headed by Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva. The first of its kind, the network map and its insights not only set out the intricate network of entities and assets held by the Aliyeva sisters, but they also make clear that the sisters do not work alone. To operate this vast network, Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva need a small army of enablers willing to grease the wheels—both domestically and internationally—of the kleptocratic machine. These enablers include financial institutions directly under the control of the Aliyev family that are able to receive, house, and move money; law firms practiced in the creation and maintenance of corporate entities; and trusted individuals within the Aliyev inner circle willing to act as front persons for various corrupt schemes.

This report—adopting the categories first established in The Sentry’s “Constructing Corruption: Identifying the Enablers Helping Build Violent Kleptocracies”—examines these enablers in detail, exposing how and when they have contributed to the Aliyev Empire.