In an interview with RFE/RL, the President of Sil Holding Khachatur Sukiasyan reiterated his claims that the accusations were trumped up by the Armenian authorities in retaliation for his strong backing of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan’s most bitter presidential election challenger. He called the pressure of the government as state terror on him.
Signaling the government’s intention to widen the crackdown on SIL, Armenian state television implicated on Tuesday one of Armenia’s largest commercial banks owned by Sukiasyan in what it presented as a fraud scam involving tax and customs officials as well as top executives of another Sukiasyan-owned firm. The government-controlled H1 TV channel revealed that four employees of the State Tax Service and the State Customs Committee have been arrested on relevant charges. It said more such arrests are imminent. Sukiasyan strongly denied any wrongdoing on the part of Armeconombank, 25 percent of which is owned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). “Armeconombank is always happy to process any transaction between physical or legal entities involving a cash transfer or other operations,” he said. “But the bank doesn’t care about the nature of the relationships between those entities.” The tycoon added that SIL Group is preparing to file a libel suit against H1 and to demand as much as 400 million drams ($1.3 million) in compensatory damagers. “That slanderous report can have a long-term impact on our image,” he said. The EBRD declined to comment on the government allegations, saying only that it continues to trust Armeconombank. “As things stand now, we work with and support the bank,” a regional spokesman for the London-based lending institution told RFE/RL. Armeconombank remains the sole Armenian commercial bank in which the EBRD holds a significant minority share. Announcing the $1 million share acquisition in August 2004, EBRD officials said they chose Armeconombank from among the two dozen local banks because of its Western-style management and financial transparency.
P.S. Yesterday evening the Prosecutor General’s Office has spread a press release on this, which particularly reads, “In reply to many inquiries of mass media the General Prosecutor’s office taking into consideration public interest, informs that a criminal case has been launched in the Investigation department of National Security Service attached to the Government of RA by the 3rd provision of 189 article ( false entrepreneurial, which caused a damage in a considerable degree ), 1st point of the 3rd provision of the 178 article (a fraud in a considerable degree) and 1st part of 215 article (smuggling in a large degree) of Criminal Code of RA. By the preliminary investigation was found out that by “Namyu” ltd., which was founded by the senior inspector of the Sevan’s regional Tax service S .Davtjan and chief public servant of the Avan’s territorial Tax service of the state Tax service attached to the Government of RA, a citizen of RA, disable person suffering from bones cancer, by the name of A .Ghazarjan. Without provision of goods false invoices were distributed to “Silvia” ltd., about distributing medical and other equipments of 720 million total cost to “Silvia” ltd company causing considerable damage to the state. Formally from the name of “Silvia” ltd. to the “Namju” ltd. the transfer and cashing of the sum was formulated by the open stock company “Hayeconombank”, especially by Sevan branch in which was directly participated S.Davtjan. By “Silvia” ltd. print house by using the mentioned false documents, medical and other equipments worth of 720 million total cost illegally and by smuggling were exported from RA, the value added tax for exported goods were transferred in a sum of 120 million drams to the account of the “Silvia” ltd. During the preliminary investigation also other cases of false deals were found out, and they are under investigation now. The public servants of Gugarq territorial customer service A.Gasparyan and A.Matevosyan were accused by the part 1 of 38-215 articles and part 1 of 314 article of RA Criminal code, the director of “Silvia” LTD was accused by the 1st point of part 3 of article 178 of RA Criminal code, part 1 of article 215. The preliminary investigation is in process.”