This article is part of a partnership with OC Media. You can read the original in English here.
The Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan and Turkish subsidiaries of the state oil company SOCAR have reportedly accumulated nearly $500,000 in debt related to the purchase of expensive carpets ordered from the state-owned company Azerkhalcha OJSC. This was reported by the independent Azerbaijani outlet Meydan TV, citing internal company documents.
According to Azerkhalcha’s annual report for 2025, published on July 14, the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan owes 695,000 manats ($410,000) for carpets and related products, while the total debt of SOCAR’s subsidiaries to Azerkhalcha for the same goods stands at 107,000 manats ($63,000).
The Presidential Administration ranks first among Azerkhalcha’s debtors, followed by SOCAR’s subsidiaries.
According to Azerkhalcha’s financial report, the state company’s accounts receivable amounted to 1 million manats ($590,000), compared to 19,000 manats ($11,000) a year earlier.
The report also states that the increase in debt is driven by both an increase in the volume of orders from government departments and companies, and the non-payment of a portion of these orders.
Apparently, such large amounts of debt resulting from purchases by SOCAR and Azerbaijani state companies are a relatively new phenomenon and were not mentioned in annual reports from previous years.
Azerkhalcha OJSC was established in 2016, and the company’s products have been used as gifts by high-ranking officials.
In April 2026, Azerbaijan’s Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, who is also the country’s First Lady, visited the National Museum of Georgia and presented it with five rare carpets made by Azerkhalcha. The size and cost of the carpets were not disclosed.
OC Media contacted Azerkhalcha with questions regarding this debt, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
This is not the first time Azerbaijani state companies or other official bodies have failed to pay their debts.
In one recent case, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan became the defendant in a lawsuit filed by a Kyrgyz construction company after the ministry failed to fully pay for the construction of a park in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The ministry reportedly owes more than $3 million for the project.
