ARMENIA CHEATS DIASPORA INVESTORS; A FUND ESTABLISHED IN THE U.S. TO PROTECT INVESTORS’ INTERESTS
arminfo
Tuesday, September 25, 21:28
A fund has been established in the United States to protect the
interests of Armenian Diaspora investors, Nikolay Baghdasaryan and
Lernik Hovhannisyan, lawyers of Diaspora investor Edmond Khudyan,
said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Baghdasaryan said that several dozens of investors, whose interests
were infringed in Armenia, have already applied to the fund. The
lawyer stressed that throughout his law practice he has defended the
interests of many large investment companies, which got disappointed
and left Armenia. He thinks that the Diaspora investors do not just
seek to obtain profit; in fact, they are eager to help their historical
Motherland, therefore, the Diaspora Armenians’ investments should
be protected first of all. “If they cheat, for instance, an Italian
investor, the latter spits upon the affairs in Armenia and leaves
for Georgia. But when we cheat an investor from Diaspora, we lose the
last lever to attract investments”, Baghdasaryan said. He added that
only the investors from Diaspora are trying to consistently fight the
lawlessness in Armenia. This is why relevant steps have been taken
to unite the efforts and protect their interests in the country.
Baghdasaryan also pointed out that the case of Edmond Khudyan is
one of the most outrageous cases from the viewpoint of infringement
of the investor’s rights. He made share investments in housing
construction. Khudyan built a 10-storey building in Mashtots Avenue,
33/1 in Yerevan. Khudyan and Arin Capital investment company owned
by local businessman Vladislav Mangasaryan came to an agreement that
the company would build the last two storeys, do the finishing work
in the building, sell the apartments and provide the agreed amount
of the receipts to Edmond Khudyan. Mangasaryan sold the apartments
at some price but fixed a lower sum in the documents. Moreover,
by means of another company he owns (VMG), Mangasaryan allegedly
lent some amount to some company, but in fact made no transfer, and
allegedly received back these funds some time later. Baghdasaryan
said that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia assured him
that the specified facts were confirmed on the basis of agreements,
but on the other hand, the Prosecutor’s Office has been checking the
facts of money transfer for half a year.
Baghdasaryan said that because of Mangasaryan’s illegal activities the
state alone has sustained losses worth $1.5mln. “In Khudyan’s case
Arin Capital is charged with fraudulent bankruptcy while it should
have been accused of writing off (laundering) several millions of US
dollars,” the lawyer said.
Hovhannisyan said that one more big Diaspora investor Saro Hartunian
has lost $1.26mln because of the activities of Mangasaryan’s group.
Hartunian’s and Khudyan’s lawyers filed two separate suits, but
the office of the prosecutor general combined them into one case
and resent it to investigator of Armenia’s State Income Committee
Tigran Harutyunyan. “Until now the Mangasaryan has not been summoned
to testify. Nobody is yet suspected, while Khudyan has not yet been
recognized as aggrieved. They are simply trying to cover up this
crime,” Hovhannisyan said.
Khudyan said that his company has lost as much as $8.5mln during
the construction of a building in Mashtots Avenue. He complained
to the State Income Committee in Nov 2010 in hope that the taxation
authorities would force Mangasaryan’s company to repay $1.5mln in tax
debts and would inquire into the forgery of warrants and Khudyan’s
signatures, but both the committee and the office of the prosecutor
general preferred to cover up the crime. So, now Khudyan is going to
appeal to the European courts.