Estonian transportation company Bolt has been caught in a corruption scandal in Azerbaijan – coincidentally one of the most corrupt countries in the world – where the company’s local management engaged in systemic bribery, selective treatment and abuse of power, or so is alleged.
The Azerbaijani media is reporting that local fleet owners and drivers filed complaints directly with the company’s headquarters in Estonia, after which Bolt conducted an internal audit and, as a result, dismissed the country office head Naim Azizov and several other employees.
According to the internal review, what took place was a “well-organised scheme” where drivers were blocked from the platform on various pretexts.
“When they turned to the local office for resolution, their requests were ignored, only for an intermediary to appear shortly after, offering to ‘resolve the issue’ for 200–300 manats. Once the payment was made, the block was lifted immediately,” Azeri website 1news.az reports.
The bribe amount – 200-300 manats – equals €102-€153 and it’s rather substantial, considering that the average monthly salary in Azerbaijan in 2025 was 1,094 manats or a little over €550.
Intimidation of complainers
According to the Azeri news, a similar pattern was identified in the document renewal process.
“Fleet operators reported that their paperwork was deliberately held up with fabricated errors, which conveniently disappeared after bribes of several thousand manats were paid,” 1news.az reported.
Access to lucrative ride categories, including airport pickups and certain intra-city services, was also reportedly restricted and made available only to select fleets, the website added.
After the allegations were made public, drivers and fleet owners who had filed complaints reported receiving calls from the office pressuring them to withdraw their accusations. Initially, dozens of people supported the initiative to escalate the matter to Estonia, but most of them later reversed their position.
In a statement, Bolt’s Azerbaijani office confirmed the management shakeup, saying it “takes any claims of misconduct extremely seriously” and maintains “zero tolerance for violations of internal policies, ethical standards, or applicable laws”, the Azerbaijani media said.
Systemic corruption in Azerbaijan
The company also encouraged drivers and fleet partners to report concerns through official channels, reaffirming its commitment to operating in Azerbaijan “in a fair, transparent, and compliant manner”.
Azerbaijan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. According to the Corruption Perceptions Inde 2025, compiled by Transparency International, Azerbaijan scored only 30 points, putting the country in the corrupt category.
“In most of the world’s full autocracies, such as Venezuela (10) and Azerbaijan (30), corruption is systemic and manifests at every level,” Transparency International said.
In comparison, Estonia is one of the least corrupt countries in the world, according to the index, scoring 76 and being on par with countries like Australia and Ireland.
Bolt was founded by Markus and Martin Villig in Tallinn in 2013 as a taxi app called Taxify. It later changed its name to Bolt and is currently offering ride-hailing, micromobility rental, food and grocery delivery and carsharing services in over 850 cities in more than 50 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
