Baku, February 10, AZERTAC

“Grant Thornton is not registered to operate or operates in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the company said in its statement.

The statement reads: “Grant Thornton is not registered to operate or operates in Nagorno-Karabakh, does not have any license, permit or association, any office, legal or physical presence in Nagorno-Karabakh.

To provide further confirmation of our commitment and as reaffirmed in our letter to the Ministry of Industries along with various statements provided to the press, we once again reassure you that Grant Thornton respect the laws of Azerbaijan and therefore will continue to act with integrity, along with ensuring we conduct our professional responsibilities in accordance with the countries regulations both now and in the future, which include not working in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Is obliged to provide an annual declaration to Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) which confirms that no legal or physical presence or operations are conducted in Nagorno-Karabakh. This undertaking has been received and forwarded to the Ministry of Industry, GTIL therefore continues to monitor this stringently, in order to ensure such commitments are complied with, along with supporting the local legislation.

Grant Thornton Azerbaijan is an independent firm having no legal, financial or any other type of relationship with Grant Thornton Armenia.

Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) and each of its member firm; Azerbaijan, Armenia, and all the other 128 member firms, is a separate legal entity. GTIL does not own or manage any of its member firms and each member firm is responsible for the professional services that it delivers to its clients. GTIL, in its role as a coordinating entity sets the membership standards for the network, admits firms to the network and expels member firms from the network if they do not meet the membership standards.

Whilst Grant Thornton Armenia has no legal or physical presence, they have conducted a consolidated report from their offices in Armenia, without any physical presence in Nagorno-Karabakh for Arshahbank.

Likewise, in accordance with internal policies and procedures, there is a strict protocol which restricts legal, financial, physical or commercial presence in Nagorno-Karabakh. The adherence to such policies are carefully and regularly monitored by the senior management team of Grant Thornton in Azerbaijan.

Whilst the statement and ongoing commitment to abide by the regulations of Azerbaijan are clear, I personally want to reassure you that Grant Thornton Azerbaijan has and will continue to uphold its responsibility to the country.”