Azerbaijan Accuses Ocampo of Running Large-Scale Disinformation Campaign

Former ICC Prosecutor Exposed in Anti-Azerbaijan Campaign Using Artificial Intelligence

Evidence has emerged of a sophisticated operation against Azerbaijan involving former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was caught on video discussing the creation of an advanced system to influence international opinion on the Karabakh conflict.

According to recordings published by news outlet Minval Politika, Ocampo explicitly detailed his connections within the European Parliament, including associates of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, and described mechanisms for influencing European Union decisions—even suggesting ways to pressure the European Commission directly.

The recordings reveal a complex financial structure supporting these activities, initially funded by Armenian sources before expanding to include wealthy diaspora representatives from Russia. Sources familiar with the matter identified Russian-Armenian businessmen Samvel Karapetyan and Ruben Vardanyan as potential backers, though the operation reportedly functions primarily through anonymous channels and opaque financial schemes.

“This is not about ‘values’ and ‘principles,’ but about a systematic pressure mechanism built with the involvement of the Armenian lobby, European politicians, and financial flows linked to Russia-Armenian business circles,” Minval Politika reported based on the video evidence.

The newly released footage shows Ocampo discussing his plans to escalate his activities using artificial intelligence. “I am working with the University of São Paulo, on a project related to artificial intelligence at the Faculty of Physics,” Ocampo states in the recording. “We were discussing the Armenian project as a pilot project of a company that uses artificial intelligence.”

Ocampo further elaborated on the scope of this technological initiative, explaining that Brazil is funding the project, which uses supercomputers to model global order and disorder. “At first, we focused broadly, initially saying, ‘let’s work on global order in general.’ Then we said, ‘no, this is too complex, let’s deal with genocide.’ And then we said, ‘let’s deal with Nagorno-Karabakh,’ because I have a lot of data,” Ocampo says in the recording.

The former prosecutor’s statements suggest an attempt to industrialize information warfare, presenting politically motivated campaigns in a seemingly scientific format and scaling them through technology. He describes his vision of creating a transnational company that would transform academic research into tools for influencing policymakers, mainstream media, social networks, and academic circles.

This development represents a significant evolution in lobbying tactics in the region, moving beyond traditional advocacy to what analysts describe as a hybrid operation employing advanced technology, including potential deepfakes and other digital manipulation tools.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a decades-long territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia that was largely resolved militarily in 2020 when Azerbaijan recaptured much of the territory, remains a sensitive geopolitical issue in the South Caucasus. The conflict has historically attracted significant diaspora involvement, particularly from the Armenian side.

Minval Politika reports having sent official inquiries to European institutions, including the European Parliament, requesting clarification about Ocampo’s potential connections with European officials and whether investigations into lobbying, conflicts of interest, or corruption risks had been initiated. According to the outlet, these inquiries have been met with silence.

The lack of response from European institutions, which typically react promptly to matters concerning Azerbaijan, has been interpreted by Minval Politika as tacit acknowledgment of the issue. “In Brussels, they understand the essence of the issue well, but consider it unnecessary to comment,” the outlet stated.

This revelation comes amid growing concerns about the intersection of artificial intelligence, disinformation, and political influence operations in international relations, particularly in contested geopolitical spaces where multiple global powers maintain strategic interests.