Mr Fouks - the servant of too many masters How much does the reputation cost?

On April 19, Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian oligarch and former minister of state of the former separatist regime in Karabakh, launched a hunger strike in Azerbaijani prison to demand the immediate and unconditional release of himself and the other Armenian prisoners “illegally held” in Baku. Once called a “Russian emissary” in Karabakh by the Azerbaijani authorities, Ruben Vardanyan was detained in September 2023 while attempting to leave the former war-torn region after Azerbaijani forces established full control during the anti-terrorist operation.

Following the second Karabakh war in 2020, some Armenian revanchist groups embarked on a new mission to halt the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In this vein, Ruben Vardanyan, a Russian oligarch who gained notorious fame for the money laundering scheme, rose to power in Karabakh in an attempt "to defend ethnic Armenian rights and Karabakh's sovereignty." However, Azerbaijan’s firm stance toward the separatist regime in Khankendi left no choice for Ruben Vardanyan but to appeal to various international organizations and governments to promote the “idea of independent Karabakh” thanks to his fortune.

However, due to the position of Azerbaijan based on the rule of international law that recognizes the region as its integral part, Vardanyan's attempts to promote separatism yielded little results. As such, his short-term hunger strike in the prison can be viewed as an attempt to boost his own image, though unsuccessfully. When the hunger strike was first reported, Vardanyan's family members issued a statement that “they are deeply concerned” about the health and well-being of Ruben Vardanyan. They stated that for “nearly 200 days, the family has not seen him and had absolutely no contact with him since he launched his hunger strike on April 5.^”  

Given the poor perspectives of Vardanyan's family to take him out of Baku prison, they turned to Europe-based PR companies to arrange a support campaign for a man whose participation in international money laundering and fraud is well documented by Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting (OCCRP). Nevertheless, it did not stop Vardanyan’s family from hiring Stéphane Fouks, the Vice Chairman of Havas company, to create a "new image of Ruben Vardanyan as a political prisoner" in order to gain international support for his release. The Havas company is the world's leading communication company based in France, while Fouks is well-known for his political ties to controversial political leaders and for leading their political campaigns. For example, in 2010, Fouks consulted and led the election campaign of then-president of Côte d'Ivoire Loran Gbagbo, who was deposed by the opposition and arrested for his notorious role in crime against humanity. 2011, Gbagbo became the first leader to face official charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Moreover, according to the French media, Fouks became a key figure in France's most scandalous Cahuzac affair in recent years. The former minister of finance, Jerome Cahuzac, was charged with embezzlement in 2013. According to various sources, Fouks acted as Cahuzac's consultant to help him fix his negative public reputation. Undoubtedly, Fouks's enthusiasm in promoting the profile of figures closely engaged in corruption and financial fraud came with financial dividends, even though it put Havas company's reputation under question.

Consequently, with the push of Ruben Vardanyan’s family members, Stephane Fouks launched an anti-Azerbaijani campaign against Azerbaijan, accusing it of "illegal detention of Ruben Vardanyan and conducting an offensive against ethnic Armenian community of Karabakh." Indeed, Fouks's understanding of knowledge of the power dynamics and geopolitical realities in the South Caucasus is poor enough to neglect the order of international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations dubbing the war in Karabakh as an occupation.

However, Fouk's position regarding Ukraine, which also faced military aggression from neighbouring Russia, is totally different. In his campaign in favour of President Zelensky, Fouks defends him and the people of Ukraine in their battle against Russia and Russian separatist entities while undermining the rights of Azerbaijan to fight separatism on its soil. Therefore, Havas company's provocative role in the anti-Azerbaijani campaign by the order of the Vardanyan family is nothing but blatant double standards. Despite the anti-Azerbaijani campaign, Havas company is actively collaborating with some reputable private companies in Azerbaijan assisting them in building a relevant image. Therefore, Stephane Fouks’s controversial partnership with Ruben Vardanyan may overshadow Havas’s fruitful partnership with well-known Azerbaijani companies. We hope such cooperation will cease to exist in the shortest period.