Diamond scam in Armenia

David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza 

The diamond scam involving Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and the head of the Ararat Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan, has taken a new turn. According to official data, the other day, as a result of cooperation between the Armenian and Georgian police, the Armenian businessman Ashot Sukiasyan was arrested in Tbilisi, accused of fraud, causing property damage and legalization of income on a large scale. 

Mr Sukiasyan was indicted based on a complaint from Mr Pailaka Hayrapetyan, owner of the Yerevan supermarket "Ayastan". Back in 2010 Mr Sukiasyan (with the active mediation of Tigran Sargsyan, Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan and Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan) received a loan of 10.7 million dollars from "Ameriabank" for the project of importing rough diamonds from Sierra Leone. The loan was given for the pledge of Pailaka Hayrapetyan's property, which was worth 33 million dollars in total. Then Mr Sukiasyan, who had debts in the millions of dollars, not only in Armenia, but also in Russia and even in Africa, even before the deal, took his family and set off on the run. Dark gray diamond and gold operations in Armenia are always carried out under a powerful corrupt cover. And the speculator Suliasyan was assisted in this transaction by the founders of the Cyprus offshore company WLISPERA HOLDINGS LIMITED, the Prime Minister and the Archbishop. As a result of their multi-move combination, Pailaka Hayrapetyan's property ended up in the Cyprus company with VIP-founders. 

Both Mr Kchoyan and the Prime Minister repeatedly stated that neither Cyprus nor any other offshore entity registered any company or conferred on anyone the authority to register an organization on their behalf. Apologizing to the parliament, Mr Sarkisian said that the specifics of offshore entities allows any person to register a company using any name. In response, Petros Clerides, Attorney General of Cyprus, said that no one can be registered as a shareholder of an offshore company in Cyprus without his permission. 

In early January, the Administrative Court rejected the claim submitted by Ayrapetyan against the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance and the Economy. The businessman considers them to be the main culprits of his bankruptcy, particularly ex-Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan. However, the court reasoned the decision to be "a baseless claim." Commenting on the rejection of the claim even without consideration, Mr Ayrapetyan said that the court could not consider it, given the ranks of people standing behind this fraud. 

Thus, in addition to information burst about the offshore scandal, there was no substantial reaction from either the Attorney General or the investigating authorities, or of the police or of the presidential administration. But today, when the main person involved in direct criminal action, Sukiasyan, has been found, a reaction should still follow. The question boils down to whether Sukiasyan will be sent to court alone or together with the Prime Minister. Given Kchoyan's ecclesiastical capacity, the Attorney General's office is likely to do anything to get him off the dubious case. As for Sarkisian, it all depends on the current political situation and clans' internal showdowns. The recent public showdown between Sarkisyan and Robert Kocharyan shows that the latter would like to show the prime minister his place. Will the current president agree to such a scenario, and will he make any effort to help the Attorney General's Office in its "search for justice"? Otherwise, Sarkisian will "still be needed by the country" for another series of "reforms" aimed at pumping money from the pockets of citizens. Then Sukiasyan will have to "confess to the crime alone," and do a year or two in jail as a scapegoat.The authorities will not allow a more serious and just punishment for "their scoundrel".