Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed a new decree identifying the bodies in charge of investigating violations of the law on receiving or issuing grants. The decree also authorised which officials are entitled to consider administrative cases.
The pro-government media outlet APA wrote that officials will be subject to fines ranging from ₼2,500 ($1,500) to ₼5,000 ($3,000) for conducting banking transactions and any other transactions under agreements for receiving or providing non-registered grants. Legal entities will be subject to fines ranging from ₼5,000 ($3,000) to ₼8,000 ($4,700).
These regulations will affect not only domestic organisations, but also international entities working in Azerbaijan as well.
According to the decree, any civil society organisations that fall under the law’s purview will be dealt with by the Justice Ministry. In contrast, the Central Bank will deal with banks and other payment service providers.
The new decree comes against the backdrop of a long-running deterioration of civil society and increased government repression.
In August 2025, Aliyev signed amendments to the laws on NGOs and on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which banned civil society organisations from receiving money from abroad under service contracts without prior government approval.
At the time, critics said the move aimed to close one of the last loopholes used by pro-democracy groups and other organisations to receive support for their activities.
Aytan Farhadova
