By David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
5 of the 20 richest people in Armenia have joined the new government. Prime Minister Ovik Abramyan and Minister for Finance Gagik Khachatryan are two of the three leaders whose relatives own about half of the country, according to a statement by Nikol Pashinyan, who wants to lay bare the wounds of the Armenian economy.
In his words, Abramyan became one of the richest people in Armenia by being a high-ranking politician in the past 20 years, not because of his financial genius. Thousands of hectares of cultivated land, gas and gasoline stations, hotels, factories, mansions – no matter which building of Yerevan city center you stand by, it turns out that two of its floors belong to the prime minister. Ovik Abramyan, being the minister for territorial management, was coordinating agriculture and received millions of dollars from agricultural products while thousands of farmers were being strangled by loans and leaving the country.
Pashinyan named David Arutyunyan as head of the Government Office and Karen Chshmarityan as Minister for Economy among the billionaires. “In these conditions, talking about the fight against “the shadow” in the economy is pointless. The government program notes the importance of forming a national brand. It does not exist, because the authorities have such a government headed by Serzh Sargsyan that the only brand Armenia can have is corruption,” said that lawmaker.
Abramyan responded to the accusations at a session of the ruling Republican Party, stating that there was no information about ministers engaged in business. He promised to check whether their relatives owning businesses pay taxes.
The prime minister said that Samvel Aleksanyan (Lfik Samo), one of the key monopolists of Armenian imports, a member of the Republican Party, has promised to work according to the tax law from now one. However, Abramyan admitted that Lfik had promised to work “legally” only on condition that all companies do the same.
Abramyan declared an ultimatum to large-scale business, stating that “corresponding measures would be taken,” unless the entrepreneur starts following tax rules. The statement was especially shocking, considering that it was made by a man who owns half of Ararat Province.
Another gag came from “the superminister”, Minister for Finance Gagik Khachatryan, who accused journalists of making Armenia unattractive for investments with their “senseless articles impeding realization of government programs, denting the confidence of small and medium-scale business in the executive authorities.” Khachatryan is confident that many countries are very impressed with the experience of Armenia and demand assistance in implementing it. It is clear that Khachatryan did not specify the countries.
In 2013, Armenia spent $861 million to service the government debt. In 2020 Armenia will need over a billion dollars for the same purpose. Pashinyan is adamant that such postponement of debt payments is a clear sign that the authorities rule the country following the principle “after us, the deluge."
