'Five Percent of Truth, the Rest is Lie': Azerbaijani President Comments on 'Pandora Papers' Leak

BAKU (Sputnik) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday that he did not read the so-called Pandora Papers investigation about himself, adding that probably only 5% of what is written there is true.

The Guardian reported earlier that Aliev’s family sold $540 million worth of property in the United Kingdom in recent years.

"To be honest, I didn’t read what was written in the documents. I was informed, and there is perhaps five percent of the truth. The rest is a lie," Aliyev told Italian newspaper La Repubblica in an interview.

The Azerbaijani president also said that his biography is well known and mentioned that he was a successful entrepreneur before becoming a president.

"After becoming president, I stopped being directly involved in business and transferred the business to my family. You will probably understand that unlike other people in the West, who left their entire heritage to cats and dogs, in Italy and Azerbaijan we honour family values. Therefore, I gave my whole business to children. They are continuing the business. They mainly invest in Azerbaijan. They also have investments outside Azerbaijan. All their business activities are transparent and internationally verified, and no one can claim that something is wrong here," Aliyev said.

Earlier this month, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the so-called Pandora Papers, which are nearly 12 million leaked documents that reveal offshore data and allege that many world leaders, businessmen, and celebrities have been engaged in offshore activities.