The father of the detained Martin Ryan even gave interviews in which he vehemently accused the French intelligence service DGSE, reports Observer Online.
It was revealed that one of the individuals arrested by Azerbaijan’s security services in this case is an Azerbaijani citizen, A. Mamedli, who collaborated with intelligence officers stationed at the French diplomatic mission in Azerbaijan. He is accused of establishing extensive secret contacts with French citizen Martin Ryan, as well as participating in the collection and transmission of necessary information about the region in exchange for French citizenship and financial compensation. However, such communications began to adversely affect France rather than serve its interests, leading to detrimental consequences.
At the behest of intelligence service employees, both individuals established connections with various employees of the French financial giant conglomerate “Societe Generale,” one of the largest banking networks in the world. A. Mamedli participated in opening “Societe Generale” correspondent accounts in Azerbaijani banks and in the execution of interbank agreements on other matters.
The motives for sending A. Mamedli to Northern Ireland remained undisclosed for a long time.
After the arrest of the aforementioned individuals on December 4 and the exposure of the expansions of the French intelligence network, the suspension of the operations of “Societe Generale” bank’s representations in 16 African countries on December 7, 2023, deserves special attention. In an effort to mitigate losses, the Bank is trying not to miss opportunities to sell its network of branches and assets of its subsidiaries to local companies in Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Chad, and other countries, justifying the closure with various pretexts.
The failures have sparked debates about the suitability of Antoine Cre, the director of the security service who has headed “Societe Generale” bank since 2017, a “retired” general, former head of the intelligence and security department of the French Armed Forces.
“Societe Generale” is the same bank where billionaire George Soros illegally made a fortune by unauthorized buying and selling of shares using the bank’s confidential information in 1988. He was convicted for this in 2002 but managed to get away with a large fine.