The Baku court for serious crimes found Gular Ahmadova guilty on fraud charges after she was accused of offering to secure a parliamentary seat for academic Elshad Abdullayev in return for money.

The accusations emerged from covertly-recorded video released on the Internet last year apparently showing Ahmadova demanding the bribe. Ahmadova, who resigned amid the scandal, said the footage was manipulated to discredit her.

Abdullayev, the former rector of the now-defunct Azerbaijan International University who lives in a self-imposed exile in France, distributed the footage himself.

ANN.Az