Courts do not return money transferred for illegal purposes - clarification from the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan

The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan has explained how courts consider claims for the return of money if it was transferred for illegal purposes.

In its statement on this issue, the Supreme Court said: "As judicial practice shows, in some cases citizens transfer money or other property to someone in order to achieve a certain illegal result. When the promises are not fulfilled, claims for the return of the transferred money are usually filed in courts of civil jurisdiction. However, as a rule, it is not possible to return these funds through judicial proceedings."

"In the legal assessment of any claim in civil proceedings, the first step is to find a legal basis corresponding to the plaintiff's claim. In civil law, for any monetary claim to be satisfied, it must arise from a contract, the infliction of harm, unjust enrichment, or other grounds provided by law.

Money transferred for illegal purposes is not based on any legal ground. The legal system protects only lawful relations. If money was transferred for unlawful purposes, these legal relations are no longer recognized as civil-law relations protected by law.

In cases of this category, courts first examine the question of the purpose for which the money was transferred. Because in order to use legal protection, the relations themselves must initially be based on lawful and legitimate grounds. If it is established that the parties acted with the intention of achieving an unlawful result, the claim in such a case is not subject to satisfaction.

In addition, in such situations, citizens risk not only losing their money but also facing additional negative legal consequences. If signs of an offense are found in the case materials, the courts may issue a private ruling and send the materials to the prosecutor's office for procedural assessment.

To avoid such risks, citizens are advised to build their legal relations exclusively on lawful and legitimate grounds and to refrain from illegal transactions," the statement said.

1news.az