Swiss Leaks/His Holiness Karekin II

The Swiss Leaks project is based on a trove of almost 60,000 leaked files
that provide details on over 100,000 HSBC clients and their bank accounts.
Explore the data to see how different countries compare, and find out more
about some of the clients of the bank:

His Holiness Karekin II

Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians

Born Ktrij Nersessian, he was enthroned in 1999 as the 132nd Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos (meaning “universal leader”) of Echmiadzin, the
holy seat of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church. He has traveled the
world visiting the Armenian diaspora and promoting inter-faith dialogue. His
travels have taken him to places including Vatican City, the United States,
India and Turkey, milestones of his pontifical visits.

File details

HSBC internal files first listed Karekin II among its clients in 2000. He
was connected to an account named “His Holiness Karekin II Nersis” that
listed one bank account and held as much as $1.1 million in 2006/2007. The
leaked files do not specify the exact role that Karekin II had in relation
to the account.

Comment

A spokesman told ICIJ that the account in question was opened by His
Holiness Karekin II’s precedessor “for the benefit of the Church and its
charities. This account was transferred to His Holiness Karekin II
Nersissian upon the death of his predecessor to be used for the same
purposes. The Catholicosate -the area of responsibility of the Catholicos-
of the Armenian church is a national religious institution and is not
subject to any taxes” and that His Holiness “has immunity from any taxes.”