DIASPORA INVESTORS – EASY PREY FOR ARMENIA’S AUTHORITIES?
Edik Baghdasaryan
HETQ
July 14, 2011
“I’m going to throw all of you in prison”
These were the words uttered by tax investigator Rafael Mkrtichyan
to Nareg Hartounian, a Lebanese-Armenian who founded the Naregatsi
Art Institute.
Yes folks, here’s yet another story of a diaspora Armenian investor
being bullied by officials in Armenia – this time it’s the dreaded
State Revenue Committee.
A bit in the way of background info on this family and their
activities:
The Naregatsi Art Institute was incorporated in 20002 as a non-profit
organization. Its stated objective is to serve Armenia’s existing
cultural heritage through supporting Armenian contemporary artists
and creating a forum in which the spirit of art and the common voice
can resonate freely.
The Naregatsi Art Institute opened its doors to the public on
September 5, 2004 and in Shushi on August 31, 2006. The Shushi branch
was housed in a dilapidated building that was rebuilt. Both centers
were accessible to the physically disabled. To date, over $2 million
has been spent on the two art centers. ().
With their own resources, the Haroutunian family carries out charitable
projects in Yerevan, Shushi and Karvatchar.
They have constructed the Knaravan village (north of Karvatchar
in the liberated territories) and have populated it with homeless
families. It was named in honor of Knar Haroutunian, the family’s
deceased mother. The project’s aim was to build houses for. The tiny
community also has a school and a medical unit so that the 15 families
can be provided with all the necessary living conditions.
The project, costing $550,000, was completed in 2004.
()
During the years 2002-2010, the Haroutunian family has contributed
over $3 million to charitable works in Armenia and Artsakh.
In September 2010, Nareg also became director of GH Storage
Enterprises, a foodstuff importing business started by his father
Garabed Haroutunian.
Before Nareg took over the reins of GH Storage Enterprises, the
company’s executive director was Sevak Artzruni and Artyom Martirosyan
was the managing director. Artzruni ran the show and made all the
decisions. The Haroutunian family lived in the U.S. and had close ties
to the Sevak Artzruni family. It was Artzruni who ran the business
for the Haroutunians.
It was the sudden falling out between Nareg Hartounian and Artzruni
that prompted the company’s warehouse manager to send off a letter to
Armenian law enforcement, stating that the company was purposefully
avoiding paying taxes.
The man who wrote the letter was Garik Babayan; the brother of Sevak
Artzruni’s wife. Nareg had fired Garik Babayan from his job two weeks
after becoming executive director.
The Kentron and Nork Marash Administrative Court issued a search
warrant for the company’s premises. The court order said it was to
search for goods not duly registered as inventory. The court claimed
that 14 million AMD worth of goods were thus concealed out of an
import order of 35 million.
The investigator in charge failed to note when such transactions were
alleged to have taken place. Had he done so, it would turn out that
it was during the tenure of Sevak Artzruni as executive director.
But I’m jumping the gun. Sevak Artzruni served as the legal
representative (power of attorney) for the Haroutunian family since
2003. He purchased real estate for them.
GH Storage Enterprises was established in the name of Garabed
Haroutunian and in 2009 he and his two sons, Nareg and Saro, signed a
document obliging them to pay Sevak Artzruni 25% of their commercial
profits derived in Armenia.
On September 23, 2010, Sevak Artzruni signed a document forgoing any
further dealings with the Haroutunian family and annulling any prior
obligations he had to them.
In the letter, Artzruni cited such factors as “a change in the
Haroutunians’ attititude and growing lack of confidence” as a reason
for his pulling out of any and all contractual arrangements with
the family.
Artzruni also mentioned that he expected to be paid the 25% in
remuneration for services rendered.
Artzruni naturally failed to mention was the fact that Nareg has
noticed that large amounts of cash had gone missing. He demanded some
answers from Artzruni.
This is where the story gets more than a bit confusing and
multi-layered. Everyone seems to have gotten involved – the courts,
cops, tax authorities and a host of other characters.
In the end, Sevak Artzruni sues Garabed Haroutunian and his two sons,
demanding that the court make them hand over the 25% profit owed him.
Sevak Artzruni walks around Yerevan flanked with bodyguards.
When he was the executive director of GH Storage Enterprises, Artzruni
had the company pay the head of the Police Department’s Division of
Personal and Property Protection for the bodyguards.
Photo: Nareg Hartounian (left) and Sevak Artzruni
www.naregatsi.org
www.knaravan.org