After the resonant arrest of the CSTO Secretary General by the Armenian authorities, which came as a shocking surprise to even weathered Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Nikol Pashinyan's team has continued to take rather provocative steps towards Moscow. Yesterday, Armenia's State Revenue Committee conducted searches in the South Caucasian Railway. Documents were seized, personal belongings of employees were examined. A criminal case has been reportedly initiated in connection with 9.7 million drams of VAT fraud.
This event could be attributed to rumbles, prosecutions and inspections that have already become routine after the revolution, if it wasn't for two important aspects to which attention should be drawn.
First, the South Caucasus Railway is a subsidiary of the JSC Russian Railways, which is a Russian state company established in 2003 on the basis of the Russian Ministry of the Means of Communication and carrying out transport services in 77 out of 85 regions of the Russian Federation. In 2017, the Russian Railways entered the top five of Russia's largest companies, the company employs 737,000 people. That is, it is about initiating proceedings and inspecting a subsidiary of a Russian state-owned company.
Second, a ridiculous amount of money, of which the Armenian authorities made the great deal and even sent special forces to the South Caucasus Railway, stands out here. We are talking about the alleged non-payment of 9.7 million drams. The figure looks impressive, but in fact it is only ... $20 thousand. That is, due to $20 thousand of possible VAT fraud, the Armenian authorities send employees of the State Revenue Committee's special forces to the Russian state-owned strategic company that annually pays $7.5 million to the Armenian treasury and invested half a billion dollars in investment. Couldn't the Armenian authorities, who swear allegiance to an alliance with Russia, discuss this issue in a more delicate way with their ally?
In the beginning was the arrest of the CSTO Secretary General, now there are searches in the South Caucasus Railway. It is noteworthy that it is happening against the backdrop of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's rather harsh statement that Russia "must adapt to the new situation." Is it possible that the Armenian authorities looking forward to the Western support do not realize that tomorrow they may face a "new situation" themselves? And it is far from certain that the new Armenian government will be able to adapt to it.
