Israeli IAI Transfers $155 Million to Two Companies Suspected of Money Laundering for Azerbaijan

Banking documents have been leaked revealing that Israeli state defense company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) transferred approximately $155 million to Azerbaijani government-connected companies Jetfield Networks and Larkstone, which are suspected of money laundering, between 2012 and 2014. The details of the transfer transactions remain unknown.

The leaked documents were provided to the Israeli news agency “Shomrim” by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which published an investigation based on them. According to Razminfo, the banking documents regarding the transfers were included among those monitored by Deutsche Bank, which compiled reports of suspicious activities and forwarded them to the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for further inspection. However, the authors of the investigation note that merely forwarding the transaction to this entity does not necessarily imply that it was illegal.

It is believed that the funds were transferred following a significant deal worth about $1.6 million signed between Israel and Azerbaijan in 2012. Transfers to Jetfield began in June 2012, just a few months after the aforementioned major deal. Additional transfers occurred at the end of that year and early the following year. Deutsche Bank's reports indicate that by 2014, over $116 million had been transferred to Jetfield, while Larkstone received $39 million.

Journalists attempted to obtain comments from the Israeli company regarding this matter; however, they were only informed that the company operates in accordance with legal provisions and would not respond to inquiries deemed illegitimate.

The funds transferred to these two companies are noteworthy as they are reportedly linked to a “laundering scheme” in Azerbaijan outlined in other leaked banking documents from 2017. According to these documents, approximately €2.5 billion was funneled through four companies registered in England that have close ties to the Azerbaijani authorities, through which the money was “laundered.” The investigation indicated that Jetfield was one of the transferring companies, and Larkstone was involved in the operations.

The beneficiaries of Jetfield and Larkstone are the same person, Azerbaijani Javid Huseynov. Jetfield was established in New Zealand in 2009 and relocated to the Marshall Islands three years later, in February 2012. According to Israeli sources, the media began reporting on the significant deal with Azerbaijan around the same time as the company’s relocation, and just four months later, the monetary transfers reportedly commenced.

It is worth noting that IAI has cooperated with Azerbaijan in various defense-related sectors, with confirmed arms purchases from this company including Heron tactical reconnaissance drones, Harop loitering munitions, LORA operational-tactical missile systems, LAHAT anti-tank guided missiles fitted to Mi-17 helicopters, Barak-8 air defense systems, ELM-2084 multifunctional radars, and IAI Sky Capture radar guidance systems.