DR. ARMEN SARKISSIAN

@ArmSarkissian

I recently got an email asking me about my family’s holdings from a journalist formerly associated with an Azerbaijani think tank and claiming to be acting on information from his Armenian colleagues. In the interest of transparency, I am placing my response in the public domain.

 Mr. Denis,

As you know, or should know, I resigned from political office almost exactly two years ago. It is puzzling that you should choose to expend valuable resources on targeting me in retirement as well as members of my family (private individuals who have never held any public roles) with questions fed by others that are in fact based on information that is wholly in the public domain. Yet, out of respect for the mission of the OCCRP, I am taking the time to write this letter to you in response.

My sister, Karine, is a highly distinguished cardiologist. Holding a PhD in medical studies, she is a founder of Armenia’s first and most prestigious open-heart surgery clinic that has saved countless lives since its establishment. She has worked at a number of prestigious institutions in Armenia and abroad. In the 1990s, she represented major international pharmaceutical companies. It speaks to her brilliance as an individual that she was able to practice medicine and navigate the world of business equally successfully. I mention all of this as a proud sibling.

In the 1990s, as I went from being a scientist to a public figure, I made the decision to entrust my wealth — earned from developing software and video games — to my sister. My duties, first as a diplomat and later (briefly) as Prime Minister of Armenia, demanded absolute dedication. My choice, which is not an uncommon practice for people entering public life, was vindicated when I was diagnosed in 1997 with terminal illness and went into intense therapy. It was my sister who, as executioner of my estate, looked after my family: my wife, my two young boys, and my elderly mother. Karine remained the ultimate beneficiary of the companies founded by me. These companies, involved in a range of investments — in hi-tech, IT, telecoms, infrastructure, electricity distribution, among others — were run by professional managers, and advised and audited by major international law firms and auditors. Some of them were held by companies based in the British Virgin Islands — this was a completely standard set of arrangements for managing wealth on which professional advice and expertise was received.

It is largely with the proceeds of these investments that the properties you mention were bought. They were not initially purchased at their current high values, and they were certainly not worth “tens of millions of pounds,” as you state. The purchase of some of the property was in fact financed by a bank loan. The appreciation of their value over the years suggests smart investment rather than, as you seem to imply, extravagant expenditure. In 2022, after I retired from politics, and as she was approaching her 70s, my sister gifted two properties to my sons while continuing to own the remainder.

As for myself, barring a brief pro bono stint as Armenia’s ambassador to the UK in 1999, I was a private citizen from 1997 to 2013. In those 16 years, I advised major global organizations such as EBRD, Bank of America / Merrill Lynch, BP, Alcatel, and Telefonica, to name a few. I was very well-compensated for my work and paid all taxes that were due on my income in a timely fashion.

In 2013, when I accepted the government of Armenia’s invitation to return as the country’s ambassador to the UK, I again worked without pay. In fact, I financed the refurbishment of the embassy, and equipped it with new computers and cars at my own officially registered residence of expense. The address in Chelsea, where I lived, became the ambassador and thus part of the Armenian mission — that is where we received important delegations, including heads of state, members of British parliament, and Armenian government officials. It was common knowledge and a matter of public record that the Armenian ambassador’s residence was situated in a family-owned building, saving the government substantial expenses in lease. Furthermore, in my four years as President of Armenia, I did not live in an official residence and my salary was donated to charity. I lived in my son’s house in Yerevan and paid all the expenses, which were not insubstantial, out of my own pocket. If press reports are to be believed, the upkeep of the senior leadership of Armenia costs the Armenian exchequer 90,000 US dollars a month. On this basis, it looks like I saved the Armenian taxpayer upwards of four million US dollars during my presidency and around a million US dollars while serving as ambassador.

You ask me if I have ever lived in any of the houses owned by my family, and why I chose to register Eurasia House — my non-profit organization which helped to educate hundreds of young Armenians at Cambridge and other universities — there. I find it odd to have to explain why I lived in a house owned by my sister. For more than 30 years, my sister lived in my house in Yerevan. But we never looked at it that way. Perhaps it is our culture. We are a family. Our children and siblings live with us and we live with them. Moreover, my sister is the executioner of my will (and I of hers).

Lastly, you point out in your emails to my sister and my son, Hayk, that the company he founded and manages (and in which the family initially invested) once existed in a different form. It’s not clear what you are suggesting because the company’s website clearly states that it “was originally part of a family office that has investment and operational experience in Eurasia for over 30 years in various sectors.” I hope this helps you in uncovering any history that is not already available on the company’s website.

In any case, you will appreciate that it is difficult to discern from your multiple emails exactly what you wish to allege, particularly as you appear to confirm that I had no declarable interest during my time in office.

Your emails have come just as my new book The Small States Club, published only weeks ago, is receiving international attention and provoking extensive discussion. My book looks at the sources of success of such small states as Estonia, Ireland, Singapore, Botswana, Qatar, Switzerland, and the UAE, among others. The book’s last chapter examines the reasons why Armenia has not been able to join this group in the past three decades: namely, absence of a clear vision and fundamental freedoms, misgovernance, corruption, and the pretension of upholding the values of democracy. Is the timing of all this a coincidence? I generally do not believe much in coincidences, but I am willing to accept that it might be.

I hope that the above clarifies matters. If, however, you have any further questions for me (or related to members of my family), please get in touch with my family’s lawyer.

In the interest of transparency and because I have nothing to hide, I am placing this letter in the public domain via my channels of communication.

Yours,

Armen Sarkissian

Jonathan Browning, Bloomberg News,

(Bloomberg) — When U.K. authorities began investigating wealth belonging to a politically-connected Azerbaijani family, their suspicions were triggered by a raft of “brass plate” companies that funneled more than double the amount of the couple’s stated income.

Almost 14 million pounds ($19.3 million) was routed into British bank accounts controlled by Suleyman Javadov, the son of a former deputy energy minister, and his wife. Among the 21 companies that moved their wealth was Rovers Production and Tourism Ltd., which chartered a private jet to fly female models to the Spanish party island of Ibiza. Another firm’s accounts were managed by an individual who appeared to be a dentist living in Belgium.

A full legal filing from the National Crime Agency released by the London court on July 7 gives the most detailed glimpse yet of how dirty money was allegedly funneled through the U.K. using a scheme known as the Azerbaijani Laundromat, which enabled the flow of about $3 billion in cash. It also laid out the role of Danske Bank A/S’s Estonia branch and that of Latvia’s ABLV Bank AS in transferring money to the U.K. The documents were released after the Javadov family agreed to hand over 4 million pounds to end an investigation by the NCA.

The shell companies “played no other role than to disguise and hide origins of money coming to them,” NCA lawyer Jonathan Hall told the court.

At the hearing, Hall said the NCA initially sought to seize 6.4 million pounds, but chose to settle with Suleyman Javadov and his wife Izzat Khanim Javadova, a cousin of Azerbaijan’s president, on the eve of the proceedings. The Javadovs made no admission of wrongdoing and their lawyers said in a statement that the couple “have legitimate business dealings and trusted that their money transfers were dealt with by the banks in accordance with the law.”

The couple accepted that the money was transferred through “pass-through” accounts which were part of what prosecutors have described as a laundromat, but denied knowing the money itself was laundered, said James Lewis, their lawyer.

In opting to settle the case, the NCA unwittingly highlighted some of the issues policing the U.K.’s “dirty money problem,” said Susan Hawley, who runs British transparency group Spotlight on Corruption. Even when pursuing civil rather than criminal procedures, with the resulting lower burden of proof, it suggest “that law enforcement bodies are struggling to bring home cases.”

The documents from the crime agency, which were prepared late last year before the court hearing, were released following an application by London’s Evening Standard newspaper, which unmasked the couple following a lengthy court battle.

Baltic Link

They show how the funds ended up in U.K. bank accounts, including at Banco Santander SA and private bank Coutts & Co., via hundreds of transactions from Danske Bank’s Estonia branch or ABLV Bank, once Latvia’s third-largest bank before it was shut down over money laundering concerns.

Danske Bank, Denmark’s biggest lender, is still being investigated in the U.S. and Europe for failing to screen billions of euros flowing into Europe via its Estonian branch. Investors are bracing for fines, which Bloomberg Intelligence estimates may be as high as $1 billion in the U.S. alone.

Danske Bank declined to comment, citing ongoing investigations. Coutts also declined to comment. A Santander spokesperson said the bank couldn’t comment on individual cases but said it takes its “responsibility to counter money laundering, corruption and tax evasion extremely seriously.” The bank will “report any suspect activity to law enforcement agencies and regulators,” he said.

The Javadovs received some 1.6 million pounds in six transfers from Seychelles-based Rovers Production via ABLV over a six-year period through to January 2018, the NCA said. In 2014, the firm flew a group of men and five young female models to Ibiza, the NCA said. Javadova, who worked as a DJ under the name Mikaela Jav on the Spanish island over several summer seasons, started performing gigs in 2014, according to an online database.

Rovers Production wasn’t found on the Seychelles company register and couldn’t be reached. The Javadovs had no idea who controlled the company and were not involved in the charter flight, said Sonia Ahmad, one of their lawyers.

Another firm, the now-defunct U.K.-based Crosspark Lines LLP, sent 48 transfers from Estonia to the Javadov family. The name of the person submitting the accounts was given as Ali Moulaye, “a name connected to a dentist living in Belgium,” the NCA said.

The couple’s lawyer said the Javadovs had no knowledge or connection with Crosspark and “could not be expected to know the route of funds arriving into their U.K. accounts.”

Attempts to reach Moulaye weren’t successful. When interviewed by Buzzfeed in 2018 about his role with other British shell companies, he told the news organization that he signed “many things, many times” for his friends in Latvia.

Interviewed by the NCA, Suleyman Javadov was unable to explain the role of some of the 21 companies involved in sending the funds. He told investigators “I’m just disgust with all this,” according to the NCA court documents.

The agency said it expected the Javadovs would argue that the money was moved via an informal transfer system used frequently in the Muslim world known as hawala. The network is mainly used for legitimate purposes, but the NCA said it can also be exploited by those “who may wish to seek to layer and integrate criminal funds into an (otherwise) legitimate banking system.”

After the court settlement, the NCA said it would continue to pursue others who might have used the money laundering operation.

“Anyone who used the Azerbaijan laundromat should not rest easy, as your assets in the U.K. are potentially recoverable,” said Andy Lewis, the head of asset denial at the agency.

BY  SUSAN KORAH,

The 100,000 Armenians who fled en masse after Azerbaijan seized control of Nagorno-Karabakh — the enclave known to Armenians as Artsakh — last September are now facing a bitter winter as homeless refugees in Armenia.

They and their Church leaders are urgently seeking Canada’s and the international community’s help in reclaiming their homeland and retrieving their Christian history and heritage in Artsakh, which they fear is being deliberately destroyed by Azerbaijan.

Grieving the loss of their beloved homeland and haunted by fears of an erasure of their 1,700-year-old history as a Christian nation in Artsakh, their collective anguish can only be described by the Welsh word “hiraeth” (a mixture of yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness, and an intense longing for a lost homeland.)

“It’s now over three months since I lost my home,” Siranush Sargsyan, from Stepanakert, Artsakh’s capital, told The Catholic Register. “At the beginning (of the exodus), most people were relieved to be still alive. But now we are going through another stage. We can’t accept the reality that we can’t go back home.”

Sargsyan is an Armenian journalist who has documented through her own experience the persecution and ethnic cleansing of her people by Azerbaijan. Like the thousands who fled Artsakh, she now lives as a refugee in Armenia.

Archbishop Papken Tcharian, Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Canada, and Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Prelate of the Eastern U.S., appealed to political leaders and the worldwide Christian community for help.

“I appeal to fellow Christian churches to raise their voice and support Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity in the year 301 AD as a state religion,” said Tcharian. “Otherwise, the confiscated churches, monasteries and khachkars (Armenian crosses) of Artsakh will be desecrated by Azerbaijan, and the authorities of Baku will distort the history of Armenian Christian Artsakh. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’ ”

Tanielian exhorted the international community to take a lesson from past genocides, including that of Armenians in 1915, and from the ongoing persecution of Christians elsewhere, to stop the aggressors’ actions before it’s too late.

“The best and most effective step the international community and Canada can take, without any delay, is to put into practice the same measures that they usually apply to despots: freezing all the assets of the corrupt government of Azerbaijan; establishing sanctions over their resources, and implementing all resolutions by international bodies,” he said.

 He called on Canada to take a leading role in helping to restore the rights of the people of Artsakh.

“The Canadian government is well-positioned to play an important role in this regard,” he said. “It provided a substantial amount of money via the Red Cross in the first days after the forced evacuation — better to say ‘ethnic cleansing’ or even ‘genocidal attempt’ — of the population of Artsakh.”

He praised Canada’s role in stopping the sale of arms in 2022 to Azerbaijan’s allies that are “bent on erasing the Christian presence in the land of Mount Ararat.” (The mountain where Noah’s Ark is believed to have come to rest).

The sense of loss washed over Sargsyan and her countrymen with particular intensity on Jan. 6 when Armenians — most of whom belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, an Orthodox Christian denomination — celebrated Christmas.

 “Today is Armenian Christmas, and it’s very important to celebrate it at home with family and friends,” she told The Register. “But now we don’t have a home — a homeland, yes, but not a home.”

Christmas, even under bombardment, is preferable to one without a home, she continued.

“Last year, we celebrated Christmas under siege,” she said. “And we thought it was the most difficult ever, but this year is even worse.”

The destruction of their tangible Christian heritage, and the fear of erasure of their 1,700-year history in Artsakh caused by Azerbaijan’s revisionist policies, is another source of excruciating pain, she emphasized.

“One year ago, Christmas was under siege in Artsakh, but at least in the homeland. Now our churches in Artsakh stand silent, devoid of prayers and liturgy,” Sargsyan said.

“We have not only lost our homeland, our homes, memories, but also the cultural heritage of our millennial history,” she continued, adding that dozens of churches, as well as tens of thousands of khachkars and tombstones have been razed to the ground.

She misses the beauty of the landscape, the rhythm of life in the village where she grew up and the iconic Amaras monastery, one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world.

 “I grew up near the Amaras monastery built in the fourth century where Mesro Mashtots, the monk, opened the first Armenian school and developed the Armenian alphabet,” she said. “It’s in the Amaras valley and surrounded by mulberry orchards and vineyards, where we worked and eagerly waited for the autumn harvest. It was a family tradition, which we have also lost. All our memories and traditions have been destroyed.”

Although warmly received by her compatriots in Armenia, she, like other refugees, is grappling with financial problems and physical hardship since arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs.

“If we were lucky, we could bring some documents but not much else. The government (of Armenia) and some international organizations provide some help, but it’s nowhere near enough for our basic needs,” she said.

The onset of winter, the lack of winter clothing and fuel for heating homes, not to mention inflated rental prices due to the influx of Russian refugees escaping the war with Ukraine, are multiplying the burdens of a traumatized community, she added.

Azerbaijan puts voting posters on Nagorno Karabakh’s presidency building, preparing for next month’s snap elections. From a population of over 100,000 inhabitants, about 20 individuals remain in the territory after its capture last September.

Out of the thousands of buildings in Stepanakert, Azerbaijan decided to open an election precinct right in the residence of the President of the Republic of Artsakh. Nothing is done by chance, and every detail is calculated and used to cause more pain and humiliate dignity.

Armenia: Metsamor police officers in 2023. on December 18, they approached Rashid Avdoyan, who was smoking in the central park of Armavir, and warned him not to smoke. The citizen apologized, stating that there was no warning sign about the prohibition of smoking, and he did not know about the ban. The police said that this time, they are only giving a warning; next time, they will be fined. While leaving, the police asked the citizen’s name and phone number. A few days later, the citizen received the decision to be fined 50,000 drams.

The decision to bring him to administrative responsibility was a surprise for Rashid. Always smoked in that area. During the visit of the police, other citizens also smoked in the area, because they never came across any prohibition notices. According to the citizen, the police clarified that there are cameras installed in the area and they are using them. Meanwhile, those cameras are not installed to fine citizens, but for security.

According to Rashid, the police did not inform him that they were fined, but a warning was announced, which he accepted. Meanwhile, the police identified the citizen without an identity document, name, surname and phone number, without properly informing about it.

Rashid Avdoyan states that he did not sign any document, including under the administrative offense protocol. First, the police did not offer to sign, and then the procedure for bringing administrative responsibility and appeal was not explained to him. He learned that he was fined only after receiving the decision.

Rashid Avdoyan was fined for violating the requirements of Article 6, Part 1, Clause d of the Law “On the Reduction and Prevention of Health Damage Due to the Use of Tobacco Products and Their Substitutes”, that is, it is prohibited to use tobacco products, tobacco product substitutes (except for medical purposes) use of tobacco product substitutes) by the community in children’s playgrounds and play parks.

The citizen reports that he smoked in the park, away from the children’s playground.

Spokesman of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Narek Sargsyan, told “Hetk” that on December 18, the citizen himself handed over his personal data, address, year of birth, to the police officers. There was no need to ask for a phone number.

According to N. Sargsyan, the protocol was drawn up on the spot, but the citizen refused to take his copy. He was told on the spot that there will be an administrative hearing on December 25, but R. Avdoyan refused to take the summons and appear at the hearing.

We asked Narek Sargsyan if there is any evidence that the citizen was notified about the administrative proceedings, to which N. Sargsyan conveyed that he was notified on the spot, no additional summons was sent.

Suppose we accept the clarification of the ministry, which contradicts the information provided by the citizen. In that case, the important question remains open: how will it be proven that the citizen was actually aware that an administrative proceeding was initiated against him and was properly notified about it?

Rashid Avdoyan claims that he was not informed about the proceedings and the fine. They did not ask the address of the residence either. He himself said that he is from the village next to Armavir, he was not informed about the ban, but he did not mention the name of the village, nor the address of the house.

We asked Davit Khudatyan, head of the extended community of Armavir, whether there are designated smoking areas in the parks of Armavir or whether there are signs prohibiting smoking.

The head of the community clarified that there are no separate areas. There are no signs posted in the parks either, but they regularly post papers stating that smoking is prohibited.

“To be honest, at this moment, I don’t know how many of them are left or not, but we have pasted them with self-adhesive papers several times; I think some of them have been preserved,” says Davit Khudatyan.

The main image was created using DALL·E 3

Source: https://hetq.am/hy/article/163386?utm_content=bufferae1d4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Armenia’s National Commission on Television and Radio has suspended the license of Tospa, the broadcaster of Sputnik Armenia radio, for thirty days following remarks by Russian TV personality Tigran Keosayan in November deemed “offensive” to Armenia.

The Russian embassy in Yerevan criticized yesterday’s decision, arguing the measure was taken to push Armenia further from Russia.

Sputnik Armenia is a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency.

The Commission writes that Keosyan, during a November 17, 2023 radio program, referred to Armenia and its people in “mocking and derogatory terms”, adding that Keosyan, a foreign commentator, has no moral right to make such assessments.

The Commission writes that Keosyan’s claims and opinions were false and caused “panic” in Armenia.

Sputnik Armenia has hit back, calling the suspension decision unfounded.

While Sputnik Armenia acknowledges that Keosyan voiced harsh criticism of Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, accusing him of betraying the country, the station disagrees that this was a call for violence.

“Does Pashinyan really think that he will remain alive after this betrayal?”, Keosyan asked during the program. 

Keosyan is married to Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the international channel Russia Today and a loyal supporter of President Vladimir Putin. 

The Commission also fined Tospa 500,000 drams (US$1,200).

The Armenian church was looted and vandalized in Sodertalje, Sweden, Swedish media report.

Valuable items, which have both financial and spiritual value, were stolen from St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church.

The police are investigating the incident.

Lusine, a member of the Armenian community in Sweden, had written on X that earlier there were a series of attacks on Armenian graves in Sweden, also on her, and now—on the aforesaid church.

This is not a chain of coincidences. This is deliberate targeting and intimidation, Lusine had added.

The Armenian church was looted and vandalized in Sodertalje, Sweden, Swedish media report.

Valuable items, which have both financial and spiritual value, were stolen from St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church.

The police are investigating the incident.

Lusine, a member of the Armenian community in Sweden, had written on X that earlier there were a series of attacks on Armenian graves in Sweden, also on her, and now—on the aforesaid church.

This is not a chain of coincidences. This is deliberate targeting and intimidation, Lusine had added.

Everything is very clear, there is even no need for discussion; the [presidential] decree on dissolving the Republic of Artsakh just needs to be canceled. Artak Beglaryan, the former Minister of State of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), stated this in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“I don’t know why this topic is getting so heavy. It’s just a question of cancellation mechanisms as to which one is more preferable. Either through a new [Artsakh] presidential decree or through the Supreme Court. Of course, it should be with the new decree of the president, which is very fast, without prolonging, without long procedures, without being dependent on other actors, etc.,” Beglaryan said.

“It is preferable that it happens before January 1 [i.e. when the aforesaid decree comes into force]. But it has no legal significance. Its significance is informational, political because it’s all the same. The decree of September 28 does not cause any legal consequences because it is unconstitutional, the [Artsakh] president has no authority to dissolve the republic. Secondly, it was signed under the threat of violence [by Azerbaijan], which was confirmed by both the president and the NA [National Assembly)],” added the former minister of state of Artsakh.

According to Beglaryan, there is no legal matter here, but there is a matter of perception and political message, especially to the international community.

“It is necessary to show political will and give that clear message that we [i.e. Artsakh] continue to function as of January 1. Even if it [i.e. the decree] is not cancelled, it doesn’t change anything; the state bodies of Artsakh continue to function,” said the former state minister of Artsakh.