Hassan Gozal is an Iranian businessman and an associate of Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva, having served alongside them as director of three companies in the British Virgin Islands: Arbor Investments Limited, LaBelleza Holdings Limited, and Harvard Management Limited.[556]
Hassan Gozal and his brother Abdolbari Gozal are linked to scores of companies registered in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone. These have operated under the umbrellas of several holding companies, including Intersun Holding FZCO, Dia Holding FZCO, and DAAX Corporation, which Hassan Gozal chairs.[154] [557] DAAX has investments in oil and gas, energy, construction, property, insurance, and healthcare.[558]
The Gozal brothers’ companies have been major contractors for the Azerbaijani government, having built Baku’s iconic Flame Towers and the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center,[559] as well as a luxury ski resort at Shahdag in the Greater Caucasus mountains.[559] [560] Companies linked to the Gozal brothers had won construction contracts in and around Baku worth approximately $4.5 billion, according to a 2013 investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.[556] The Gozal brothers also founded Azersun Holding,[561] widely reported to be Azerbaijan’s largest food and retail conglomerate,[562] [9] as well as its parent company in Turkey, Intersun Holding.[564]
Hassan Gozal did not respond to The Sentry’s request for comment.
