Person of the Year: Ilham Aliyev's "Unwanted" Title

24 JUL 2025 10:03

When you hear the phrase "Person of the Year," what do you imagine? Probably the cover of Time magazine, successful business people, innovative scientists, or activists fighting for peace. But what if there was another, shadowy "Person of the Year" title, a kind of "award" that no one would want to receive, but which tells more about our reality than all the shiny awards combined?

It is this kind of "honor" that was bestowed upon the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, being named the "2012 Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption." This not-so-honorable title is awarded by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a prestigious consortium of international investigative journalists.

And if you think this is just a symbolic gesture or a political hit job, you are mistaken. This is a verdict. A verdict delivered not by judges, but by 60 journalists from 15 media outlets—the people who, risking their lives every day, dig into the "swamp" that many prefer to ignore. This award is a diagnosis, a revelation of a systemic disease called kleptocracy: power in the hands of thieves.

Why Aliyev? "A Family Business" Called a State

The question arises: how did the President of Azerbaijan "deserve" such attention, surpassing such "heavyweights" as Vladimir Putin, Islam Karimov, or the Albanian drug lord Naser Kelmendi? The answer is hidden not in individual corrupt deals, but in an entire system that the Aliyev family has built in Azerbaijan over the years.

The year 2012 was a turning point. Joint investigations by OCCRP and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty proved with documents something that everyone suspected but was afraid to say out loud: the Aliyev family has systematically taken over the shares of the country's most profitable sectors. We are not talking about small businesses, but giants of the economy: telecommunications, the banking system, construction, even gold mines.

And how is this done? The scheme is simple and at the same time genius in its audacity. The deals are often carried out through companies linked to the state. The state, which is supposed to protect the interests of its citizens, turns into a tool for the enrichment of one family. This is what was described in American diplomatic cables as governance based on the principles of a mafia clan. This is what allows the Aliyev family not only to get rich within the country but also to secretly accumulate real estate abroad, for example, in the Czech Republic.

And what does the government do when journalists bring all this to light? Does an investigation begin? Of course not. The government's response is silence. But not only that. When OCCRP journalist Khadija Ismayilova began to expose these schemes, she was subjected to blackmail and persecution. This is the true face of the system: it not only steals but also brutally silences anyone who tries to speak about it. At a time when Azerbaijan spends millions to improve its international image by organizing "Eurovision" and other glamorous events, these investigations show the real picture: a petty dictatorship built on fear and personal enrichment.

The "Honorable" Competitors: The Global Map of Corruption

To understand the scale of Aliyev's "victory," it is worth looking at who his competitors were. This is, in essence, the "hall of fame" of corruption and organized crime in the post-Soviet and Balkan space.

Vladimir Putin (Russia): The Russian President appeared on this list because of the "Magnitsky case," a case that has become a symbol of state-level corruption and attempts to cover up its consequences. Sergei Magnitsky, who tried to expose tax fraud committed by Russian officials, was himself arrested and died in prison. And the Putin administration's response to the adoption of the "Magnitsky list" by the US was cynical and inhumane: banning Americans from adopting Russian orphans. This is a case where corruption turns into a tool of international politics.
Islam Karimov (Uzbekistan): The "greedy" dictator of Uzbekistan, known for his cruelty, stood out for a huge bribery scandal involving his daughter, Gulnara. The Swedish telecommunications giant TeliaSonera paid hundreds of millions to an offshore company linked to Gulnara to obtain a 3G license. What is surprising here is not the actions of the Karimov family, but the fact that a reputable Swedish company was caught in such a dirty deal. This shows how international capital sometimes becomes a nurturer of dictatorships.
Milo Đukanović (Montenegro): The long-time leader of Montenegro runs the country like his own business. An OCCRP investigation revealed that Đukanović's family bank, using state reserves, gave huge, unsecured loans to friends, criminals, and shady offshore companies. When those loans went "bad," Đukanović saved his bank by selling the state power grid. This is a classic example of kleptocracy, showing how political power is used to solve personal financial problems at the expense of the state.
The Serbian Duo: Miroslav Mišković and Darko Šarić: The story of these two shows the fusion of business, politics, and outright mafia. Mišković, the richest man in Serbia, who controls about 6% of the country's economy, was arrested on charges of fraud. But the reality is deeper: Mišković financed the former authorities. When the government changed, the new ones began to "dig into" his businesses, finding links to the drug lord Darko Šarić, who laundered his cocaine money through Serbia's oligarchs.

Conclusion: The Diagnosis - Corruption as a "Growth Industry"

OCCRP editor Drew Sullivan, summarizing the year, ironically noted: "2012 was a breakthrough year for us, those who cover organized crime and corruption. It is a growth industry worldwide."

This cynical but true statement puts everything in its place. What is happening in Azerbaijan, Russia, or the Balkans are not isolated cases. They are manifestations of a global system where political power is not a goal but a means to personal enrichment.

Ilham Aliyev's "victory" in this undesirable contest is symbolic. It shows that modern dictatorships are often based not on ideology, but on corruption. They buy lobbyists, articles in glossy magazines, international events, but they cannot buy the truth.

And this "Person of the Year" award is just a small but important fragment of that truth. It is a reminder that when you see the shiny skyscrapers of Baku or hear the official statements about Azerbaijan's "dynamic development," you should remember the price that is being paid for it. Remember the journalists, like Khadija Ismayilova, remember the looted resources and the ordinary citizens who are deprived of their right to have a share. This award shows that behind the shiny facades, there is a system. And that system, as the OCCRP journalists showed, has a name. In 2012, that name was Ilham Aliyev.