By Pavla Holcova, Khadija Ismayilova and Jaromir Hason

At Heydar Aliyev Airport in Baku, you can always count on the business class checkin line at the Azerbaijan Airlines Prague flight being just as long as the one for economy class.

That’s because Azerbaijan's ruling clique have made the Czech Republic a favored destination in recent years.

They have come not just as high-end tourists to see its rich historical sites and natural beauty – but as investors as well. Officials of oil-rich Azerbaijan, including members of the Aliyev ruling family, have established companies in Prague, bought land, and built hotels and luxury villas most of them focused around in the famous spa city of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad).

The problem is that some of these investments are illegal.

The full extent of their investment became clear after reporters for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) examined the Czech property and company records of prominent Azeris.  The political elite, it appears, has been playing a real life game of Monopoly in a race to acquire properties in the heart of the European Union.

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