Ex-foreign minister and ex-deputy defense minister of Armenia
suspected in money laundering
Arminfo Agency
2007-05-07 14:47:00
Ex-foreign minister of Armenia Alexander Arzumanyan and the foreign
deputy defence minister of Armenia Vahan Shirkhanyan are suspected in
money laundering, National Security Service (NSS) press-centre told
ArmInfo.
Investigation showed that while in Moscow from April 24 to 36, the
initiators of the so-called "Non-Cooperation Movement," ex-foreign
minister of Armenia, Alexander Arzumanyan, and the former deputy
defence minister, Vahan Shirkhanyan, agreed with a certain Levon
Markos, Russian citizen, to organize delivery and legalizing of some
dubious financial means. It is noteworthy that Levon Markos has been
wanted by the Armenian Prosecutor’s Office since 2005 for financial
fraud. The source reports that L. Markos pursues some goals during the
pre-election campaign in Armenia. They transferred 180,000 US dollars
in parts to the accounts of 9 nominee names on April 27 via Yerevan
"Converse Bank". A criminal case has been initiated on Article 190.3
of the Armenian Criminal Code. The search in the flats of
A. Arzumanyan and V. Shirkhanyan exposed a large amount of money in
foreign currency. A. Arzumanyan refused to explain the source of the
55,400 US dollars found in his flat. NSS Investigation Department is
investigating the case.
From: Baghdasarian