– Mr. Bagratyan, an Armenian newspaper has written that the Ararat wine factory of Yerevan has been privatized and as a result it was shown that the transaction price was just 60 thousand dollar and millions were grabbed. There were also rumors that you were a participant of that transaction and your relatives have been employed there. Do you remember how much noise was made?
– It is hard to imagine that there may be any poor lie like those “facts”. First, according to the government’s 226 decision dated July 26,1996, the mentioned factory was evaluated not at 177,5 million dram as they say, but 855 million dram, 341 million out of which had to be paid to the budget, and 514 – to cover the debts. By the way, most part of the mentioned 514 million had to be paid to the budget too. It is worth mentioning that the mentioned 514 million (1272 thousand dollar) was paid in monetary form. 341 was privatized, but through subscription in two cities. The market price of those vouchers was not less by ten times than the nominal value, but by three times. This means that the buyer paid about 1418 thousand (if the mentioned 177,5 million in the newspaper report is not a wrong number) dollar for the factory (in that period the exchange rate was 404). This is a higher number compared to the other entities.
– Do you mean that the other wine factories or the brandy factory of Yerevan, which was sold at 28 million dollar, were sold at cheaper prices?
– Certainly. The above mentioned figures were calculated in the manner established by the law that was in force during that period. In the same way the wine factories of Ijevan, Taperakan, Getap, Lenughi (MAP wine factory), the champagne and wine factory of Vedi (Vedi Alco) were sold cheap too. At that time the prices were calculated basing on the alcohol reserves and capitalization of profits. As for the brandy factory of Yerevan, which was privatized by Robert Kocharyan in 1999, its price appears to be cheaper; the buyer paid 28 million dollar for 15 million alcohol (1,87 dollar 1 per liter). As for Ararat wine factory, the price the buyers paid was equal to 1418 thousand dollar for 0,49 million liters (2,88 dollar 1 per liter). Don’t forget about the fact that it was privatized in 1996 (during the consecutive three years the prices increased rapidly) as a joint stock company. In addition, the collection of alcohol and old wines was left as the property of the state. What I say does not mean that the Yerevan brandy factory was privatized wrongly. The brandy factory was bigger by 30 times than the other wine factories. Personally I have worked at that factory for 8 years. Besides that, Robert Kocharyan, since he came to power, has done everything not to let the companies privatized by our team work. However, he paid specific attention to the wine factory of Yerevan. There is another fact which may interest the readers too: on August 10, 2000, by 457 decision of the government “Ararat” factory of Saint-Petersburg was sold just at 300 thousand dollar. That factory occupies 12 thousand cm territory in the center of the city, which is located, as far as I know, at S. Petrovskaya 10. This is what we should speak about.
– It was also spoken that the director of Ararat wine factory is a friend of your mother-in-law, and they know each other from Masis raw-materials and technical plant and Haycop alcohol production plant, and also they said that you had shares in that company…
– My mother-in-law has never worked at the mentioned entities. The director was a person who was professional in that work. As far as I know the former director was judged for financial violations. I didn’t need the help of my mother-in-law when the minister nominated a new director. It wasn’t difficult to know about the new director without her. As for my participation in the company, it is not true. Why don’t they say that, for instance, Robert Kocharyan owes shares in that company. If I owe shares, help me get those shares. If you do that, I promise that I will share it with you. I think that such publications have been ordered by the authorities. These rumors are spread by people who don’t want to discover their crimes connected with companies such as Armenian Airlines, Ardshininvestbank, Yerevan lamp factory, Armsavingsbank, Zangezur copper-molybdenum factory, the hospital after the Blessed Virgin, which were just given out to their relatives or undiscovered agents. Second, they are warning the owners of such companies that if they support the democratic processes in the country everything will be discovered. Third, it is not excluded that the mentioned collection of Ararat wine company may be privatized too, which was not privatized based on a decision adopted in 1996. Now the Armenian Mass Media coverage is virtual, all TV channels are under the control of the state, they write information in their own newspapers, and then they watch and read all that information and assume that it is true.