Where to keep money? This question may become a nightmare for the average citizen. Hiding money under the mattress is not a very good idea. One day the money may just become paper. Saving money in the bank means if the bank goes bankrupt, you are insolvent as well. Under these circumstances, the best way to save financial capital is to do it through buying gold.
There are a few points of sale and purchase of valuable metal in the capital city, where people buy gold to save their financial capital. The “Gold market” doesn’t offer very much to customers. The market is full of cheap and non-quality jewelry. We say gold because there is a tiny stamp on the jewelry. To our question “who is the one who stamps?” we heard a short response, “I don’t know.” The same answer is given by the head of the development financial marketing and currency regulation of the RA Minister of Economy and Finances, Karen Tamazyan. The thing is that Armenia has not had a law on regulating expensive metals till last year. Now we have had the law for a year, but it’s equivalent to not having a law, as nothing has changed. Prior to that law this sector was regulated by the law adopted in 1956 in Soviet Armenia, which put state stamps on gold items. Every item made in Armenia’s gold factories was sent to the appropriate supervising body, which would first inspect, and later get those stamped. According to Tamazyan, the mentioned body has stamped and inspected only 10-15 thousand items since 1992. But the number of the gold items that have been sold in gold markets in Armenia is considerably more than that. Those items mainly belonged to the Gold Factory. Despite that fact, it would be impossible to find any old item in our markets without a stamp. That stamp doesn’t differ from the state one. It’s more than evident that those new stamps are made by certain odd businesses. The fake stamps are imported from Russia, as one can always find the tiny star and the class of gold in Armenian and Russian gold items. Of course the local jewelers, when making items in their workshops, prefer to use fake stamps rather than going to the state body. The stamping of the gold item is a paid service in both of the cases – 1,200-2,500 per item. The swindlers may not even use gold items, and use the gold stamp to sell it as gold. The stamp doesn’t show which organization has put the stamp. It means that even if there is the need to complain, one won’t be able. The Ministry of Finance is aware that in the market one can buy everything, but not gold. Our interviewee told us that very often one gets copper or lead items sold for gold ones. The lovers of big gold chains must be warned that what shines is still not gold. Very often lead exceeds the amount of gold in the item due to the crafty work of our jewelers. “This is not only a criminal act but also very dangerous for the health of people,” says Tamazyan. It’s not a secret that our gold buyers buy gold from gold markets to save their financial capital. What’s the reason that no one gets punished for this massive violation? It’s evident that this chaotic situation is profitable for a number of people. The evidence of the mentioned information is the law on rare metals and stones, which has lost its essence on the way of becoming a law from a bill. It’s going to be necessary to spend 5-6 years to make this law binding. After the amendment the word “stone” was absent from the title of the law. This means that at present we don’t have any law on regulating gems. It was the RA Ministry of Trade and International Development that disagreed o include the word “stones” in the title of the law, reasoning that Armenia, being part of the Kimberly Convention, must abide with the requirements of the mentioned convention and not its own. The state supervises only the importation and the sale. Armenian Public Relations Association (APRA) offers cooperation to mass media representatives in implementing a project aimed at enhancing civil society’s role in democratic governance. The project includes creation of conditions for establishing an effective dialogue between beneficiaries – representatives of the public and private sectors, which in its turn will contribute to strengthening and increasing activity of the public’s role in the country’s governance. Within the frameworks of the above-mentioned initiative, APRA cooperates with public administration authorities, coordinating the sectors of justice, social security, and environmental protection, as well as with private organizations in order to make the activity of public administration authorities transparent and understandable for the public in order to ensure public participation in decision making. The mass media is also expected to participate in the project implementation in order to gain more effectiveness. At present the jeweler, before staring a business, must have a license from the territorial cadastre office, registration as a taxpayer and license from the city council. “This mechanism doesn’t work. We have received applications from 9 different business starters,” mentioned Tamazyan. The new law also defines the form of the stamp. It includes the portrait of David of Sassoun and the number of the licensed organization. The Minister of Finances has given licenses to 11 businesses so far. According to the legislation, the sale of the gold items with the old stamp is forbidden, however the market is even currently full of old stamp jewelry. The National Tax Service and the appropriate department of the Ministry of Finance have the authority to inspect. In case of a violation, for the first time the law punishes the sellers the amount of 50,000 AMD, and for the second attempt – 350,000 AMD and so on. The law doesn’t define criminal punishment for the violators. The buyers of imported jewelry (Turkish and Italian) are advised to check the stamps of the item to make sure that it has two tiny circles. If it doesn’t, it means that the item doesn’t correspond to its price.