Ramin Isayev

Ramin Isayev (also known as Ramin Ali Hakan) is an Azerbaijani businessman and former executive. He served as the founding General Director of SOCAR AQS from 2008 to 2020. In 2023, he was arrested for financial crimes. In September 2025 he was convicted of large-scale embezzlement and related offenses of over $32M USD. He was sentenced by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes to 14 years in prison.

Early life and education According to his LinkedIn profile, he graduated from Baku State University with a Master of Science degree in physical sciences in 1994. The profile also mentions his participation in executive management programs.

Career Isayev worked as an economist at Azerbaijan's Ministry of Finance until 1998. He later moved into the private sector, including roles in the energy industry such as at BP/Statoil's gas project in Azerbaijan and at KCA Deutag, an international oil drilling company.

In 2008, he became the founding General Director of SOCAR AQS, a joint venture between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and international partners. During his tenure, the company expanded drilling operations and entered into new partnerships. He served in the role until 2020.

From 2008 to 2020 he was general director of SOCAR-AQS, a drilling and well services company founded in 2007 as a joint venture between State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Nobel Oil and Absheron Qazma. During his tenure the company began working outside Azerbaijan. In 2018 it began drilling its first exploration well in Bangladesh for the state company Bapex. In July 2018 SOCAR-AQS and KCA Deutag formed Turan Drilling and Engineering, a joint venture for drilling in the Caspian region and Central Asia. In 2019 it was contracted to drill 40 wells for the expansion of the Lake Tuz underground gas storage facility in Turkey.

Isayev left SOCAR-AQS in October 2020 and was succeeded by Samir Mollayev. He later acquired Turkish citizenship under the name Ramin Ali Hakan.

Arrest and conviction On 6 July 2023 Isayev was arrested in Baku in a case brought by the Anti-Corruption Directorate of the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan. He was charged with embezzling 16 million manats. The Baku Court of Appeal rejected his appeal against the detention order later that month.

His trial opened at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes on 29 July 2024. By then the charges had been widened to embezzlement of 54 million manats from SOCAR-AQS, money laundering, abuse of office and official forgery, as well as the non-repayment of a loan from the International Bank of Azerbaijan. SOCAR-AQS, Absheron Qazma and Aqrarkredit were recognized as injured parties. At their request, the court held the trial behind closed doors.

On 8 September 2025 the court convicted Isayev of embezzling 54 million manats (about US$31.8 million), money laundering, abuse of office and fraud. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and property belonging to him and his family was ordered confiscated. According to the court, he had placed relatives in highly paid positions at the company and used shell companies to win tenders. Investigators alleged that he had laundered funds by buying property in Turkey. The confiscated assets included homes in Baku's Sea Breeze resort and in central Baku, as well as property in Turkey. Isayev pleaded not guilty, saying his family's assets came from business income earned before he joined SOCAR-AQS.

Ramin Isayev

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