One Country, Two Families

The record

A company vanished in Baku. Its tax number remained.

How do a president's daughters and the sons of one of his country's most powerful ministers end up in the same corporate network? This report follows that question, tracing the economic connections between the Aliyev and Heydarov families through records stretching from Türkiye to the United Kingdom.

The story opens with an audit report, not a leak. PASHA Yatırım Bankası's 2025 report names Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva, each with a qualifying holding of 36.41%. PASHA Holding's 2023 announcement confirms, in the company's own words, its 50% stake in Mandarin Oriental Bodrum. OCCRP's 2021 Pandora Papers investigation links the London properties of the Aliyev family and their close associates to 84 offshore companies. [1] [3] [5]

At Gilan, associated with the Heydarov family, there is a different trail: a changed company name, registered capital reduced to 100 manat and a bankruptcy hearing announced in 2026. The Sentry's investigation places the children of both families side by side in the Dubai companies behind the holding. [11] [12] [13]

This report does not add up bank balance sheets and declare how rich the family is. It does something more exacting: matches each claim to its document and leaves the question open where the evidence ends. When public power intersects with family investments, who oversees the transactions, and which record explains the source of the money?

Ilham Aliyev

President of Azerbaijan

His daughters Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva: qualifying shareholders in Istanbul-based PASHA Yatırım Bankası; listed as persons with significant control in three London company records. [1] [7] [8] [9]

Kamaladdin Heydarov

Minister of Emergency Situations

His son Tale Heydarov: identified in March 2023 records as the owner of Shams al Sahra, one of Gilan's Dubai partners; his father's ministry issued an operational readiness opinion for his building in Göygöl. [11] [14]

Two sisters, two holdings of 36.41%

The gateway to Türkiye in this story is the bank's own report, audited by KPMG.

PASHA Yatırım Bankası A.Ş., qualifying shareholders as of 31 December 2025. Report: printed p. 3 / PDF p. 11. [1]

Four names appear in PASHA Yatırım Bankası's financial statements dated 31 December 2025. Leyla Aliyeva, 36.41%. Arzu Aliyeva, 36.41%. Arif Pashayev, 16.95%. Mir Jamal Pashayev, 10.19%. The Azerbaijani president's two daughters appear in the bank's own signed report as qualifying shareholders of a bank operating in Istanbul. [1]

The same report separately identifies the bank's direct shareholders: PASHA Holding, 71.75%, and PASHA Bank OJSC, 28.21%. In the holding company's ownership structure, two companies called Bless and Reveri each hold 37.50%. These percentages belong to different corporate layers; they cannot be added together to calculate wealth. The qualifying holdings table identifies the names at the top of the chain. [1]

A disclosure filed on Türkiye's Public Disclosure Platform on 28 September 2026 announced the transfer of PASHA Holding's 358,748,764 shares in the bank to PASHA Financial Holding. According to the disclosure, the new direct shareholder is itself wholly owned by PASHA Holding. This was an internal change in the group's ownership layers rather than a sale to an outside party. [2]

RFE/RL's January 2024 investigation gives a sense of the scale in Baku. PASHA Bank, Kapital Bank, Xalq Bank and Bank Avrasiya, wholly or partly owned by the Aliyev family, together held 16% of banking sector assets in 2015. By the end of 2022, their share was 43%: almost three times as much in seven years. [4]

That figure refers to 2022; it is not today's market share. Bank assets are not cash in the family's pockets either: they are balance-sheet amounts financed by deposits and debt. But the figure does show that 43% of a country's banking assets had become concentrated in four banks linked to the family at the top of the state.

Bank assets are not the family's personal wealth.

A stake in Bodrum's luxury

The holding company's own announcement records its 50% stake in Mandarin Oriental Bodrum. It does not record the price.

The Turkish connection does not end with the bank in Istanbul; it extends to the Aegean. In a corporate announcement dated 13 January 2023, PASHA Holding said it held a 50% stake in Mandarin Oriental Bodrum Hotel. Two photographs accompanied the announcement: the hotel above the bay and men in suits lined up for the partnership meeting. [3]

The announcement is the family-linked holding company's own confirmation of its tourism investment in Türkiye. What it omits is the most discussed question: the price. PASHA Holding did not state what it paid. Figures as high as €500 million circulated in the press; this report has not treated them as verified because there is no public record confirming them.

Another distinction matters: a stake in the hotel cannot be equated with family members' personal properties. The hotel stake, the operating company and any individual villa purchases are separate transactions, each requiring its own documentation.

The image of the Bodrum resort is the visible face of the story. Three records remain to be pursued: the share transfer agreement, the acquiring legal entity and the source of financing. Without them, it is impossible to establish which flows of money paid for the luxury in the photograph.

The stake is clear: 50%. The same announcement does not state the purchase price.

Properties in London, trails offshore

The corporate network uncovered in 2021 should be read alongside the names now openly listed in the British register.

In London, the story begins with a building at the corner of Hyde Park, directly opposite Speakers' Corner. OCCRP's 2021 Pandora Papers investigation uncovered 84 British Virgin Islands companies linked to the Aliyev family and their close associates. At its historical peak, the London network associated with those companies contained £429 million in real estate. [5] This is not the family's current net worth or the total value of properties it still holds; it is the peak reached at that time.

Three years later, OCCRP and Transparency International UK returned to the same list. In December 2024, they re-examined 23 properties. Of the six apartments opposite Hyde Park, five were linked to Leyla Aliyeva and one to Arzu Aliyeva. The beneficial owners of ten properties purchased for a combined $160 million, however, were not visible: an Isle of Man trust structure had placed the names beyond the public register's view. [6]

In 2026, the curtain lifted a little. Three Companies House records revisited for this report list the names openly: Leyla Aliyeva for Knightsbridge Consultancy and Bridgewater International Investments, and Arzu Aliyeva for Harrow Ventures. The records report ownership of more than 25% of shares and voting rights, together with the power to appoint or remove directors. [7] [8] [9] That threshold does not disclose the exact shareholding, and the register does not guarantee the accuracy of the declaration. Nevertheless, the president's daughters are named as persons with significant control in the British state's public register.

Dates matter when assessing the trust barrier. Since 31 August 2025, trust information has been available on request in the United Kingdom under specified conditions; a July 2026 update removed the requirement to know the trust's name when applying. The claim that this information is inaccessible is therefore less tenable than before. This report has not yet identified the current ultimate beneficiaries of the ten properties. The door is open; the question remains. [10]

Six apartments, one trust and two names in the public register.

The name changed. The registry trail remained.

From Gilan to Xəzri Solutions: the transformation of a holding company traceable through the same tax number.

A holding company vanished in Baku. The ten-digit number that makes it possible to trace it remains: 1400725191.

Gilan Holding was associated with the family of Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov. According to Yeniavaz's July 2023 report, the company changed its name to Xəzri Solutions and reduced its registered capital from 98.5 million manat to 100 manat. [12] One hundred manat. A holding company's capital on paper had fallen to the price of a dinner in Baku.

The distinction is essential: registered capital is not the market value of a company's assets; a reduction to 100 manat does not prove that billions vanished. The real question is different. As the name and capital changed, to which legal entities were the businesses, receivables and debts transferred?

This is where the two families' paths meet. According to The Sentry's 2024 investigation, Gilan's ownership structure in 2013 rested on two Dubai companies: Sahra FZCO with 51% and Shams al Sahra FZCO with 49%. March 2023 records cited in the same investigation link Sahra to Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva and Shams al Sahra to Tale Heydarov. [11] The president's daughters and the minister's son appear at the two Dubai gateways to the same holding company.

These records from different dates do not account for every intervening period. The Sentry also tracked the 2023 name change and voluntary liquidation, writing that the new records "suggest" that all of Gilan may have passed to the Aliyeva sisters. This is an investigative inference, not a complete transaction chain showing which company changed hands, on what date and for what price. [11]

The latest chapter opened on 13 February 2026. An announcement by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Economy disclosed a bankruptcy petition concerning Xəzri Solutions, in liquidation under the same tax number: applicant AECOM Exp Russia Limited, case number e-2-2(113)-10403/2025, hearing scheduled for 24 February. The notice announces a petition, not a final bankruptcy judgment. This report did not establish the outcome. [13]

100 MANAT — The reduced registered capital, not the market value of the company's assets.

The son's building, the father's ministry

A building record in Baku and a foreign bank's internal memo in London. Two cities, the same question: who provides oversight?

Meydan TV's investigation dated 7 October 2026 drew on the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture's register to report on Tale Heydarov's three-storey building in Göygöl. According to the report, the authority issuing the building's "operational readiness opinion" was the Ministry of Emergency Situations, headed by his father Kamaladdin Heydarov: 26 August 2026, document number 14283. The entry was added to the register on 6 October. [14]

This account does not show that the minister personally signed the document or that the procedure was improper. The original opinion and its signature chain have not been obtained for this report. But the conflict-of-interest questions remain plain: who assessed the minister's son's file? Did the minister recuse himself? Was an independent review carried out?

ICIJ's China Capital investigation of 14 September 2026 raises the banking question. According to the investigation, ICBC London accepted PASHA Bank as a client in 2017. One of the bank's internal assessments considered an investigation into its owners unlikely. Its reasoning was striking: the control over the judiciary exercised by the government led by their father. [15] This is a foreign bank's own risk assessment, not a judicial finding. But a bank assessing a client on the basis that its owners are unlikely to be investigated is itself newsworthy.

Correspondence from 2021 examined by ICIJ raised uncertainty about the source of funds. The bank ended the relationship, but first waited for a deposit then worth $24 million to mature. ICIJ reported that PASHA Bank and ICBC did not respond to its questions. These statements are not presented as new responses given, or withheld, to The Ledgers. [15]

The Ledgers assessment: A low perceived likelihood of investigation is not a document explaining the source of the money.

The same question in Karabakh

Where does the public authority that encourages investment end and the commercial role of a family-linked company begin?

In a television interview on 20 April 2021, Ilham Aliyev said he had suggested that the managers of Agro Dairy and Azersun establish similar agricultural businesses in Karabakh, citing food security and employment. PASHA Holding's corporate chart lists Agro Dairy as a group company. [16] [17] One of the companies the president named on television sits within the holding company linked to his family.

Together, these two records show the intersection between the office that sets public policy and the commercial activity of a family-linked group. Without tender files, land allocation terms and competing bids, however, it is not possible to claim that a specified share of reconstruction went to the family.

On 19 September 2024, Aliyev attended the opening of the 130-room Ağdam City Hotel. The presidency's official report and photographs document the opening. An opening photograph alone does not establish the hotel's ultimate owner or how the investment was financed. [18] This report raises the question; it does not claim that the photograph proves the answer.

Publicly available responses

• In an October 2021 interview with La Repubblica, Ilham Aliyev said he had been a businessman before becoming president, had transferred his businesses to his children and that the family's activities underwent international audits. He described the Pandora Papers reporting as largely exaggerated. [19]
• In their response to OCCRP's 2018 investigation, lawyers for the Heydarov brothers said the companies using Pilatus accounts conducted lawful commercial activities and that the structure had been established to hold properties in Europe. [20]
• In its response to RFE/RL's questions in 2024, Kapital Bank attributed its growth to investment in digital banking and technology. [4]

Documents cross borders; accountability should too. It is possible to see the bank stake in Türkiye, company control in London and the company name in Baku. The missing link is the documentation connecting these records to the source of the money and the way public decisions were made.

What is documented, what is alleged, what is interpretation

The statements in this report carry different evidentiary weight. Three categories, three levels of evidence.

Documented

An official register, audited report or the company's own statement.

• Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva each have a qualifying holding of 36.41% in PASHA Yatırım Bankası. [1]
• PASHA Holding's stake in the bank was transferred within the group to PASHA Financial Holding. [2]
• PASHA Holding holds a 50% stake in Mandarin Oriental Bodrum. [3]
• Three British registry records list Leyla or Arzu Aliyeva as a person with significant control. [7] [8] [9]
• Gilan was renamed Xəzri Solutions; its capital fell to 100 manat; a bankruptcy petition was announced. [12] [13]
• The Ministry of Emergency Situations' opinion numbered 14283 was entered in the building register. [14]

Investigative findings

Document-based journalism, reported with attribution to its source.

• 84 British Virgin Islands companies; a London portfolio with a historical peak value of £429 million. [5]
• Five of the six apartments opposite Hyde Park are linked to Leyla Aliyeva and one to Arzu Aliyeva; ten properties sit behind an Isle of Man trust. [6]
• The four banks' share of sector assets rose from 16% in 2015 to 43% at the end of 2022. [4]
• Sahra FZCO is linked to the Aliyeva sisters and Shams al Sahra to Tale Heydarov, according to March 2023 records. [11]
• ICBC London's internal assessment and the $24 million deposit. [15]

Unverified

Not presented as facts in this report: these remain allegations, inferences or open questions.

• The price of the Bodrum stake. No record confirms the €500 million figure reported in the press.
• The claim that all of Gilan passed to the Aliyeva sisters: an inference by The Sentry, not a complete transaction chain.
• A claim that the minister personally signed document 14283 or that the opinion was improper is not made.
• A final bankruptcy judgment: the judgment has not been established.
• The current ultimate beneficiaries of the ten London properties: not identified.
• The family's personal net worth: no reliable figure is available.

Four unanswered questions

• PASHA Group: Which documents explain the transaction prices and financing sources for transfers involving Gilan-linked companies and the Bodrum investment?
• The Heydarov family and the Ministry of Emergency Situations: Who was the signing authority for opinion 14283, and what conflict-of-interest procedure was applied to the minister's son's file?
• Trust administrators: Who are the current beneficial owners of the London properties previously linked to the Aliyev family?
• Relevant public authorities: Which records allow scrutiny of land allocation, financing and competition criteria for Karabakh projects?

Based on reporting from: PASHA Yatırım Bankası, 2025 independent audit report — 16 February 2026 · Primary financial report; KAP share transfer disclosure 1668963 — 28 September 2026 · Primary corporate disclosure; PASHA Holding, announcement of 50% stake in Mandarin Oriental Bodrum — 13 January 2023 · Primary corporate statement; RFE/RL, Relative Wealth — 24 January 2024 · Investigative reporting; OCCRP, Pandora Papers: London properties — 3 October 2021 · Investigative reporting; OCCRP and Transparency International UK, tracing the trust — 18 December 2024 · Investigative reporting; Companies House, Knightsbridge Consultancy OE028180 — Accessed 24 October 2026 · Primary registry declaration; Companies House, Bridgewater International Investments OE028172 — Accessed 24 October 2026 · Primary registry declaration; Companies House, Harrow Ventures OE028174 — Accessed 24 October 2026 · Primary registry declaration; Companies House, guidance on requesting trust information — Updated 9 July 2026 · Primary official guidance; The Sentry, Network Insight: Gilan Holding — 2024 · Document-based investigation; Yeniavaz, Changed the name of Gilan Holding — 11 July 2023 · Reporting and account of official records; Azerbaijan Ministry of Economy, Xəzri Solutions notice — 13 February 2026 · Primary official notice; Meydan TV, building record for Heydarov's son — 7 October 2026 · Registry-based investigation; ICIJ, China Capital: ICBC and politically connected clients — 14 September 2026 · Investigation based on leaked records; President.az, Azerbaijan Television interview — 20 April 2021 · Primary official statement; PASHA Holding, group structure — Accessed 24 October 2026 · Primary corporate statement; President.az, opening of Ağdam City Hotel — 19 September 2024 · Primary official report and photograph; President.az, La Repubblica interview — 13 October 2021 · Primary statement by a party concerned; OCCRP, Pilatus: A Private Bank for Azerbaijan's Ruling Elite — 23 April 2018 · Investigation and response from parties concerned.