PASHA Holding

PASHA Holding LLC
Company typePrivate company
IndustryFinancial services
Founded2006
HeadquartersBaku, Azerbaijan
Area served
Azerbaijan
Turkey
Georgia
Montenegro
Key people
Jalal Gasimov, CEO[1]
Services
Total assetsIncrease AZN 11.9 billion (2019)
Total equityIncrease AZN 2.6 billion (2019)
Number of employees
8500+ (2019)
Websitehttp://www.pasha-holding.az

PASHA Holding is an Azerbaijani conglomerate.[2][3] Its major holdings are Kapital Bank (81.08%)[4] and Pasha Bank (71.7498%).[5][6] PASHA Holding is owned by the Aliyev and Pashayev families in Azerbaijan, two of the most powerful families in the country, making it one of the most powerful companies in the country.[7][8]

The company has been embroiled in high-level corruption in Azerbaijan.[2] The company has substantial government contracts across different sectors.[9] The revenue in 2023 was 1.3 billion Euros.[3] It has more than 20,000 employees and total assets of 11 billion Euros.[3]

Pasha Holding was founded by Arif Pashayev, the father of Mehriban Aliyeva (née Pashayeva), the first lady of Azerbaijan.

Ownership and subsidiaries

The ultimate shareholders of the company are Pashayev and the first daughters of Azerbaijan's authoritarian ruler Ilham Aliyev, Leyla and Arzu.[10][11] According to news sources, Mehriban Aliyeva is not involved in the business.[3][10]

Among its subsidiaries are Pasha Insurance and Pasha Life.[2][12] The company operates in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Montenegro, Uzbekistan and Georgia.[12] Pasha Holding owns a 50% stake in the Mandarin Oriental Bodrum Hotel.[13][14] In 2024, Pasha Construction invested 200 million US$ in building a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.[15] In June 2024, Pasha Holding announced a possible IPO in 2025 at the Azerbaijani Stock Exchange, with a possible double listing in Dubai or Turkey.[3]

Activities

The company built the Four Seasons hotel in Baku, which involved destroying part of the Baku Fortress Wall of the Inner City.[2]

Critics like Transparency International have pointed out that Pasha Holding, a COP 29 "official partner", has close ties to the Aliyev family.[16][17]

Pasha Holding has been partnering with the Baku International Jazz Festival for more than ten years.[18]

References

  1. ^ "PASHA Holding website".
  2. ^ a b c d Altstadt, Audrey L. (2017). Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Columbia University Press. pp. 126–127. doi:10.7312/alts70456. ISBN 978-0-231-70456-4. JSTOR 10.7312/alts70456.
  3. ^ a b c d e "PASHA Mischkonzern will an die Börse". Focus. 2024.
  4. ^ Kapital Bank. "About Kapital Bank - Section Shareholders".
  5. ^ KAP Public Disclosure Platform. "KAP Public Disclosure Platform Merkezi Kayıt Kuruluşu AŞ".
  6. ^ Turkey, Fortune (3 May 2024). "Pasha Bank, Türkiye'deki Faaliyetlerini Güçlendiriyor | Fortune Turkey" (in Turkish). Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  7. ^ Stöber, Silvia. "Aserbaidschan nach dem Öl-Boom: Modern und autoritär". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  8. ^ Ismayilova, Khadija; Radu, Paul (2015). "The Speakers' Corner". OCCRP.
  9. ^ Ray, Don (2015). "Forged in fire: the making of an investigative reporter". OCCRP.
  10. ^ a b Babali, Hafiz; Ismayilova, Khadija (24 March 2017). "Nowhere To Be Found: Firms With Official Ties Absent From Key Azerbaijani Registry". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  11. ^ Bloss, Dave; Patrucic, Miranda; Ismayilova, Khadija; Azerbaijan, OCCRP (2016). "Azerbaijani Insiders Benefited from Currency Collapse". OCCRP.
  12. ^ a b Pasha Holdings. "Group Structure".
  13. ^ "Azerbaijan's PASHA Holding confirms acquiring stake at Türkiye's largest hotel". Trend.Az. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  14. ^ alice (28 February 2023). "Revealed: Aliyev family's holding bought 50 percent of a luxury hotel in Bodrum". MEYDAN.TV. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  15. ^ kunu.uz. "Azerbaijan eyes to build a five-star hotel in Tashkent". Kun.uz. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  16. ^ "'Official Partners' of Azerbaijan's COP29 Climate Summit Linked To Ruling Aliyev Family and Their Inner Circle". OCCRP. 2024.
  17. ^ "COP Co-Opted: How corruption and undue influence threaten multilateral climate action" (PDF). Transparency International. 2024.
  18. ^ "18 YEARS PARTNERS". bakujazzfestival (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 12 September 2024.