Authors: Mikroskop Media and Meydan TV

A five-star hotel located on the banks of the Vltava River, which divides Prague in two, promises guests a unique city view, as advertised. With views of Prague Castle from its rooms, this hotel has been operating since the 1990s.

“The most modern design, maximum comfort, an excellent location, and a breathtaking view…” is how the company managing the hotel describes it on their website.

The 2015 change in ownership was significant enough to draw interest from Czech journalists.

 “Real estate in the Czech Republic is a safe haven for Russian investors, especially in cities like Prague and Karlovy Vary. Among them is Russian billionaire Rafig Hasanov, who purchased and owns the President Hotel,” reported local media in 2022.

Although introduced as a Russian businessman, Rafig Hasanov has deep ties to Azerbaijan. Journalistic investigations revealed that despite different surnames, Rafig Hasanov is the brother of Baylar Eyyubov, head of Azerbaijan’s Security Service. He is known by the surname Eyyubov in Azerbaijani society, but like other members of the Eyyubov family, his official surname in documents is Hasanov.

An investigation by Mikroskop Media and Meydan TV also revealed that the President Hotel is only a small part of Rafig Hasanov’s wealth empire. In addition to the hotel, he owns properties and businesses worth approximately $51 million (around 86.7 million AZN) in the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

This includes a golf resort in Karlovy Vary and at least four luxury villas in Dubai.

In Russia, until 2022, he owned assets and businesses valued at $9 million (about 15 million AZN), including an 18th-century registered cultural heritage mansion in Moscow. As of a 2020 report, a French restaurant called “Parisienne” has operated there since 2003, with a listed sale price of over $2 million. Hasanov also owns other properties and apartments in various parts of Moscow.

Due to restrictions on the Russian registry, it’s unclear whether he still owns those properties.

The source of this multi-million-dollar fortune raises serious questions.

Rafig Hasanov has not responded to journalists’ inquiries regarding the origin of the funds used to acquire his businesses and properties.

What does Rafig Hasanov do in Azerbaijan?

There’s limited publicly available information about Hasanov’s business activities in Azerbaijan. The general’s brother’s only known business in the country is “Vinagro” LLC. This company is the main shareholder of the Goygol Wine Factory, owning 99.98% of the factory’s shares. According to the company website, Rafig Hasanov is the 100% shareholder of Vinagro.

Although journalists could find only limited public information about Hasanov and his businesses, the Eyyubov family’s Georgian associate Lasha Papashvili described him as a wealthy businessman.

“He is a very rich businessman and one of the biggest players in Azerbaijan’s real estate and tourism sectors,” Papashvili said, adding that Hasanov is also a major producer of alcoholic and soft drinks.

Journalists previously revealed the Eyubov-Papashvili partnership. A 2023 investigation showed the Eyubov family co-owned a hotel in Georgia through this partnership.

Another Azerbaijani-registered company linked to Hasanov is “Polymer Investments” LLC. According to a 2019 state media report, this company owned a 5% stake in the state-owned “SOCAR Polymer,” which produces polypropylene and high-density polyethylene. (Polypropylene is a synthetic white or colorless transparent solid fiber used to make pipes, films, etc. Polyethylene is a synthetic material.) Since “SOCAR Polymer”’s published financial reports do not disclose information about its shares, journalists have been unable to determine how the stake of “Polymer Investments” LLC has changed in the following years.

According to the State Tax Service’s commercial registry, Rafig Hasanov remains the legal representative of Polymer Investments LLC. However, since information about company owners and shareholders is not publicly available in Azerbaijan, it has not been possible to determine who founded and owns this company, or whether it belongs to Rafig Hasanov.

In 2019, President Ilham Aliyev awarded Hasanov the “Progress” medal for his entrepreneurial activity, based on a decree recognizing outstanding figures in business.

How did journalists confirm they are brothers?

Rafig Hasanov was born on October 25, 1967. Azerbaijani media has previously referred to him as Baylar Eyyubov’s brother, sometimes using the surname Eyyubov. But journalists discovered that, like other members of the Eyyubov family, his official surname is Hasanov in public records and electoral rolls.

Hasanov was once registered at the same address in Azerbaijan as Baylar Eyyubov’s sister, Gaze Hasanova. Journalists also found a social media post by Eyyubov’s nephew showing a photo of Rafig Hasanov and Baylar Eyyubov together.

Furthermore, documents from the non-profit investigative group C4ADS reveal that both brothers purchased similar villas side by side on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah in the same period. After January 2023, Baylar Eyyubov transferred his villa — with six bedrooms and a pool — to his brother. The property’s rental listing states the annual rent is $870,000.

Hasanov owns more than one property on Palm Jumeirah. He also holds two apartments and two penthouses in the exclusive “Shoreline Apartments” complex. These units feature 2-3 bedrooms, with two located on the 10th floor. 

Another one-bedroom apartment is located in “Matrix Tower” in the Al Hebiah Fourth district. All of these properties, including those in Shoreline Apartments, are rented out. Some of Hasanov’s other purchased apartments in Dubai were part of the “Cube” and “Dubai Pearl North Tower” projects, totaling 15 units, though these projects were eventually cancelled.

Hasanov is also neighbors with Baylar Eyyubov’s family in London, via an offshore company.

After a 2022 UK law required offshore companies to disclose their real owners, an entity called “Nubax Holdings Ltd” listed Rafig Hasanov as its shareholder, confirmed via date of birth. UK land records show that Nubax Holdings Ltd owns a four-room apartment worth £950,000 on the fifth floor of Visage Apartments in London.

In the same building, Baylar Eyyubov’s daughter Elvira Eyyubova owns two penthouses and an apartment, all acquired through offshore structures and valued at several million dollars.

Elvira Eyyubova and other family members did not respond to journalists’ inquiries.

Businesses and Properties in the Czech Republic

Although Hasanov’s Azerbaijani business dealings are difficult to trace, records from 2011–2019 reveal significant assets in the Czech Republic worth approximately $44 million — about 74.8 million AZN at current rates.

According to obtained documents, the security chief’s brother spent €23.5 million (approx. 27 million AZN at the time) on the President Hotel in 2015. At the same time, Czech media presented him as a Russian businessman, due to his dual Azerbaijani-Russian citizenship.

Until 2022, Hasanov used his Russian citizenship to acquire assets in Russia and the Czech Republic. In Georgia, he preferred using his Azerbaijani passport. In 2022, he updated citizenship details in Czech company records to reflect his Azerbaijani nationality,  likely in response to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The President Hotel also hosted multiple official events by Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Czech Republic. For instance, on May 11, 2023, a chess tournament and reception commemorating the 100th anniversary of late President Heydar Aliyev’s birth were held in the hotel’s conference hall. The event was organized by the Azerbaijani embassy and supported by the Czech Chess Federation.

In February that year, the same hotel hosted a memorial for the anniversary of the Khojaly Massacre. In previous years, the Azerbaijani embassy held events at the hotel commemorating Nizami Ganjavi’s 880th anniversary, Victory Day on November 8, Independence Day on May 28, and the 30th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy.

Golf tournaments co-organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation

Since 2014, Rafig Hasanov’s Czech golf resort “Golf Resort Cihelny” has hosted annual golf tournaments on Heydar Aliyev’s birthday. A total of seven tournaments were held up to 2022 (excluding 2020 and 2021).

These tournaments were sponsored by various organizations, including the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Azerbaijan’s embassy in the Czech Republic, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, and others.

Despite multiple inquiries, neither Rafig Hasanov nor his associates have provided answers about the sources of funding for his wealth or whether Baylar Eyyubov played a role in acquiring the assets.

Authors: Mikroskop Media and Meydan TV – Collaboration with vlast.kz

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