Former FM is Armenia’s Ivanishvili – ruling party MP

Former FM is Armenia’s Ivanishvili – ruling party MP

news.am
October 05, 2012 | 16:48

YEREVAN. – Armenia’s Bidzina Ivanishvili is The Civilitas Foundation
founder, former FM, and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP Vartan
Oskanian, Ruling Republican Party’s National Assembly Faction leader
Galust Sahakyan stated, during a briefing at the Parliament on Friday,
responding to the question on whether PAP leader Gagik Tsarukyan is
Armenia’s Ivanishvili.

`First, Gagik Tsarukyan has not yet announced his intention to run in
the presidential elections [next February]. And if we approach [this]
matter with humor, [we can say that] Armenia’s Ivanishvili is Vartan
Oskanian,’ Sahakyan noted.

To the query as to whether this is why the Parliament stripped
Oskanian of his parliamentary immunity, Galust Sahakyan responded: `No
one stripped Oskanian of anything. Merely a parliamentary and public
oversight is commissioned with respect to that case.’

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the National Assembly on
Tuesday voted – by 64 ballots for, six against, and with one invalid
vote – in favor of Prosecutor General’s petition to include Vartan
Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit. A total of 71 MPs
participated in the voting.

To note, on May 25 the National Security Service (NSS) Department of
Investigation filed a criminal lawsuit on charges of money laundering
with respect to The Civilitas Foundation.

The NSS Press Center had informed that an investigation is underway in
connection with selling the 100-percent shares of the Huntsman
Building Products Company for around $2 million, but not informing
Armenia’s tax authorities about this business deal; not using for
charitable purposes $1,135,000 of that amount envisioned for charity;
transferring this amount to the bank accounts opened under the names
of the Civilitas Foundation’s founder Vartan Oskanian, and of the
Foundation’s Board of Trustees member Tigran Karapetyan; and using
some of this amount for private purposes.