2024, Berlin. A middle-aged Azerbaijani woman enters one of the banks in the capital, Berlin, and soon returns with a bag full of dollar banknotes. Along with the large sum of money, the package also contained gold jewellery. The owner was relocating this money, the source of which was known only to herself.
This person was Gunay Masimova, a special notary at the Absheron District Notary Office No. 2. Through her compatriots in Germany, she had managed to secure a safe deposit box at the Sparkasse bank in the city of Fürth to store her money and valuables.
Masimova deposited $330,000 along with her gold into the bank safe. Under German law, she could not officially deposit such an amount into a bank account opened in her name. Funds exceeding 10,000 euros must be declared at customs upon entry into Germany.
This kind of questioning could have caused Masimova — who is engaged in ordinary notarial activities — a “headache.” For this reason, she did not even open the bank safe in her own name. The safe was registered in the names of her acquaintances living in Germany.
After securing her assets, Gunay Masimova returned to Azerbaijan. But this was not her last trip to Fürth. Masimova could travel to and from Nurnberg at any time without hindrance. She had obtained a residence permit in Germany based on family reunification through marriage.
Thus, Masimova’s peace of mind — after depositing her money and gold in the bank and returning to Azerbaijan — was disrupted in less than a year. When she went to the bank in January 2025 and opened the safe, she found that the money and jewellery had been stolen. Despite this, she did not report the theft to the police; instead, she hastily bought a ticket and returned to Baku.
After the news about this theft was published by “Gündəlik Naxçıvan” in November 2025, it became known that Günay Masimova is the daughter of Isa Habibbayli, the president of the National Academy of Sciences, who has close ties to Azerbaijan’s political elite. However, the academician stated after the theft that he does not want his name mentioned in connection with this matter.
“It is written that allegedly 1 million euros were stolen from my daughter’s safe. In reality, this is not true. My daughter’s gold jewellery and personal belongings were stolen. Those jewellery items are heirlooms from her mother and mother-in-law,” – father Habibbayli told “manset.az.”
Among the stolen jewellery belonging to Masimova were seven antique coins minted in the name of Russian Emperor Nicholas II, seven gold coins, five gold rings, three necklaces, a silver clone with a diamond setting, a bracelet, and “Maktime” wristwatches. This list, submitted to the police, was completed by small Swiss-made gold bars and gold commemorative coins issued by the Central Bank on the occasion of Heydar Aliyev’s 90th anniversary and in memory of Uzeyir Hajibeyli.
Relying on the political connections of the Habibbayli family with the government, Masimova “compensated” for the stolen money and gold through illegal means. She coerced and intimidated the Vəliyev family into transferring their 4-room apartment in a residential complex located at 193 Heydar Aliyev Avenue in Baku into her name. This is the same family who had helped her to find a safe deposit box at the Sparkasse bank.
In June 2025, Amaliya Valiyeva, the spouse of Alasgar Valiyev, who was visiting Baku after a relaxing summer vacation in Turkey, was detained at the airport and forcibly taken to the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
There, it became clear that the travel ban on Amaliya Vəliyeva had been imposed based on Gunay Masimova’s “verbal” complaint. The Valiyev family was demanded to either return the money stolen from the German bank or transfer their Baku apartment into Gunay Masimova’s name in exchange. The mediation between the families was carried out by Ali Habibbayli, Masimova’s uncle.
“Shortly before we approached the ministry, those who were taking me phonecalled someone and gave instructions that the doors should be locked as soon as the car entered the building. They suddenly accelerated and swerved into the opposite lane, driving over the pedestrian crossing somehow… I thought we were in an accident. A car was coming from the opposite direction. When I opened my eyes, I was in a dark place. The doors were locked. They took me up by elevator to investigator Ramil Məmmədov,” – Amaliya Vəliyeva told “Qəzetçi” about what happened to her after she was detained.
She added that the investigator used psychological pressure and threats to demand that she sign a blank piece of paper. The next day, she was confronted with Gunay Masimova. Amaliya Vəliyeva says that during the confrontation, Gunay Masimova stated that the money in the safe was her children’s tuition fees.
Some time after her detention, when Amaliya Valiyeva contacted ASAN Service, it became clear that no official travel ban had been placed on her. When Valiyeva bought a ticket and attempted to return to Germany, she was detained by police at Haydar Aliyev International Airport. She was released the following morning, after a phone call she received around eight o’clock. After this, investigator Ramil Mammədov summoned her for questioning again. This time, she was received by the head of the investigation department of the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime.
“I had gone with my lawyer; they pressured her and forced her out. And they told me that if I did not transfer the apartment into the name of the person Gunay Masimova specified within three days, I would wake up in Kurdakhanı prison,” – Vəliyeva told.
Her lawyer, Gulnara Xudabakhışova, stated that police did not present Masimova’s testimony to her. According to the lawyer, no criminal case was opened regarding the matter, and consequently, the travel ban imposed on her client was also unlawful. The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not respond to the claims.
On July 21, 2025, after Amaliya Vəliyeva was forced to transfer the apartment into Gunay Masimova’s name, she was permitted to leave Azerbaijan the next day. After Vəliyeva’s lawyer filed a lawsuit regarding the invalidity of the contract, an arrest warrant was placed on the apartment. Court proceedings are currently ongoing.
Amaliya Vəliyeva’s husband, Alasgər Valiyev, tries to recall the events in detail. According to him, in early 2024, Gunay Masimova told him that she wanted to move her valuables from a bank safe in Berlin to Nurnberg, where the Valiyevs lived. Some time later, an available safe deposit box was found in Fürth, near Nurnberg.
“She wanted to open the safe in our name, but we did not agree. Because we are involved in business here [in Nurnberg], and there are tax inspections. My son runs a business in partnership with a person named Firudin Mahmudov, a friend of his. The safe was opened in my son’s name. My son was frequently in Poland for work. So that Gunay could access the safe conveniently when she came, I had an access card to the safe registered in my name under a power of attorney. But the key to the safe was with Gunay herself,” – Alasgar Vəliyev said.
Valiyev stated that after the theft, it was not possible to contact his son; when he called his son’s business partner, Firudin Mahmudov, and asked about the whereabouts of the money and gold, Mahmudov said he had pawned the gold at a pawnshop in Germany for 20,000 euros and had invested the $330,000 he took from the safe into an online business. Alasgər Valiyev says he has no information about how Firudin Mahmudov took the money and gold from the safe, given that the key to the safe was with Gunay Masimova.
“Firudin said he would return the money he had taken in installments of 50,000–100,000 per month. But he did not do. After this, on April 8, 2025, knowing that my son would also be arrested, I filed a complaint with the police. The case was now to be investigated by police. In the meantime, I retrieved the stolen gold from the pawnshop and handed it over to the police. My son was arrested, and his business partner Firudin Mahmudov is wanted,” – Valiyev emphasized.
According to the Law “On Notaries,” a notary is prohibited from engaging in entrepreneurial activities and performing other paid work, with the exception of scientific, pedagogical, and creative activities. So how did Günay Məsimova take such a large sum of money out of the country? How did she obtain this money?
“Qəzetçi” was able to contact Gunay Masimova’s lawyer through Zaur Babashov. However, Masimova refused to answer the questions.
Legal expert Yalchın İmanov says that according to the Law “On Combating the Legalization of Criminally Obtained Funds,” if cross-border transportation of foreign currency and national currency is carried out, verification measures must be implemented within the framework of the currency declaration regime: “If funds are not properly declared, legal measures must be taken”.
After the funds and jewellery belonging to Gunay Masimova were stolen, the Main Department of Notary, Registration, and Registry of the Ministry of Justice revoked her certificate and registration card effective August 20, 2025. Her activities as a notary have been suspended as well.
The criminal investigation into the theft of large sums of money and jewelry belonging to Gunay Masimova is ongoing at the Nurnberg-Fürth Prosecutor’s Office.