PASHA Construction is the construction arm of PASHA Holding LLC, a major Azerbaijani conglomerate beneficially owned by Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva and close relatives of Azerbaijan’s first family.[993] [682] [528] [341] [683] [997] [1337] [1336] [1112] [1270]
PASHA Construction is alleged to have received preferential treatment for its property developments. In 2010, a US diplomatic cable alleged that, while construction companies doing business in Azerbaijan have to pay off officials demanding “slices of the corruption pie,” “projects by Pasha Construction face few, if any, of these setbacks and are generally among the fastest to be built in Azerbaijan.”[604]
In addition, PASHA Construction is described in reports as “affiliated” with Inshaat Services,[693] [694] [698] a company registered in Azerbaijan that lent funds to the UK registered company Ali and Nino Pictures Limited for the production of “Ali and Nino,”[691] a feature film produced by Leyla Aliyeva.[468] [235] [568]
Circumstantial evidence corroborates the company’s close link to Inshaat Services. “Inshaat” means “construction” in Azerbaijani, and, according to a former employee’s LinkedIn profile, the two companies are one and the same.[469] Javad Marandi, the founder and former owner of Ali and Nino Pictures Limited, has had a professional relationship with Inshaat Services, having been variously described in reports as a “managing partner” or “consultant” to the company.[519] [565] PASHA Construction was the developer of Caspian Waterfront, a retail and leisure complex in central Baku,[445] [692] [695] a project for which Inshaat Services hired contractors.[445] [692] [695] A contractor was removed from the project in 2018 over a dispute,[696] and it sued both Inshaat Services and PASHA Construction for contract issues in 2022.[697]
