ARMENIAN DAILY PUBLISHES PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS’ INCOME DECLARATIONS
Aravot, Armenia
Dec 13 2007
All nine Armenian presidential hopefuls have submitted property and
income declarations to the Armenian Central Electoral Commission.
According to the declarations, the richest presidential hopeful
is Vahan Hovhannisyan of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation –
Dashnaktsutyun. However, Hovhannisyan was not included in the list of
the top 10 richest persons of Armenia published in Forbes magazine,
unlike another presidential hopeful, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan, whose property, according to Forbes, was estimated at 150m
dollars. The following is the text of Naira Mamikonyan’s report in
Armenian newspaper Aravot on 13 December headlined "Presidential
hopefuls declare property. According to the declarations, the richest
presidential hopeful is Vahan Hovhannisyan"; subheadings have been
inserted editorially:
In accordance with the requirements of the Election Code, all the
nine hopefuls, who have officially nominated their candidacies
to run in the Armenian presidential election on 19 February 2008,
have submitted their property and income declarations to the Central
Electoral Commission. Although the respective document particularly
emphasizes that the data must cover the reported period from "1
January to 31 December of the year preceding the elections", which
is from 1 January to 31 December 2007, still out of the nine hopefuls
only the first Armenian president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, has complied
with this requirement. For instance, in Artashes Geghamyan’s and Vahan
Hovhannisyan’s declarations, the data covers the period from 1 January
2006 to 1 January 2007 at best. The declarations of the remaining
six candidates cover the period from 1 January to 31 December 2006.
Vahan Hovhannisyan
Judging by the declarations, the most affluent Armenian presidential
hopeful is Vahan Hovhannisyan of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), though he is not included in the list of the top
10 richest people of Armenia in the Forbes magazine, unlike another
presidential hopeful, [incumbent Prime Minister] Serzh Sargsyan,
whose property was estimated at 150m dollars.
Thus, in the period from 1 January 2006 to 1 January 2007, Vahan
Hovhannisyan had two apartments at the following addresses: 10,
Koryun Street and 22, Khachatryan Street (both on the basis of joint
ownership rights), a land plot in Aringe village in Kotayk Region;
but he did not have his own vehicle. In addition, he declared 4m drams
[12,000 dollars], 8,000 US dollars and 170,000 euros in cash.
Vahan Hovhannisyan’s salary and other earnings over the year amounted
to 3,438,070 drams [10,000 dollars] in the National Assembly, and
40,740 drams [121 dollars] at Yerevan State University.
Serzh Sargsyan
The declaration of the leader of the Republican Party of Armenia,
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, deserves special attention. He lives
in the government summer residence, which certainly is not his
own property. The column "Buildings and facilities owned by you"
mentioned Stepanakert [Xankandi, Nagornyy Karabakh], where Sargsyan
owns premises covering 96 sq.m., notably, on the basis of joint
ownership rights. According to the declaration, the head of the
government does not own any land plot or other real estate, though
it was stated in the press that he nevertheless does own mansions –
for example, in the village of Ohanavan (Aragatsotn Region), near
Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepyan’s mansion, in Tsakhkadzor next to
former head of the Customs Service Armen Avetisyan’s mansion and so on.
As the only vehicle, the prime minister declared a Mitsubishi car
produced in 1992. The armoured 3rd class Gelade Wagen Mercedes Benz
that costs 370,000 dollars, in which Serzh Sargsyan is seen driving in
Yerevan streets and on the republic’s roads, probably has the "state"
status. It is worth mentioning that the car was purchased in 2000,
when Sargsyan was head of the presidential administration. The same
car served him when he was minister of defence.
The declaration states that the prime minister owns cultural objects
and expensive antiques. He, for instance, owns paintings, including
the ones painted by Armenian painters Bashinjaghian, Khanjian, Sarian,
Minas, Hakobyan, Gyurjyan, in all, 32 canvases, as well as antique
objects of the 18th-20th centuries, including statues, sculptures and
so on. It is not clear whether these items were purchased or received
as presents.
According to the declaration, in the reported period Serzh Sargsyan’s
salary amounted to 3,600,000 drams. This presidential hopeful’s cash
funds, according to information provided by him, amount to 58m drams
and zero US dollars.
Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Now let’s pass to Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s declaration. The only source
of his income is the Armenian ex-president’s retirement pension of
3,600,000 drams – this equals Serzh Sargsyan’s salary. In addition,
Ter-Petrosyan owns a mansion at No 10 Tsitsernakaberd highway, premises
for public use on 19a, Koryun Street, as well as two premises for
public use on the basis of joint ownership rights on 5a, Vardanants
Street. The income from renting both premises amounts to 4,320,000
drams. He has a Lincoln Town car purchased in 1998.
Ter-Petrosyan does not own any other real estate, vehicles or objects
of cultural value.
Tigran Karapetyan
The declaration of the leader of the People’s Party and owner of the
Alm holding, Tigran Karapetyan is also noteworthy. On one occasion,
Karapetyan stated that he had plenty of money. However, the declaration
states that he does not have much money.
Tigran Karapetyan owns mansions on 44 Aygedzor Street and 2-3
Griboyedov Street, which the People’s Party leader owns on the basis
of joint ownership rights. He is also an owner of houses on 59 Komitas
Street, 27a Mamikonyants Street and has a land plot on 59 Komitas
Street. Karapetyan does not have any other property, thought he has
repeatedly stated in public that he has business outside the country.
The People’s Party leader has declared a Dodge Viper V10 8.0L, a
Mercedes Benz 140, a Mercedes Benz S600, an Ikarus-255 coach, and
a Grand Cherokee jeep. He does not own objects of cultural value or
cash funds.
For the reported period his rent income amounted to 999,234 drams.
Karapetyan earned 360,000 drams in the Alm holding and 240,000
drams (or 60 litres of petrol) in the Albatros limited liability
company in salary or equal payments. This is at least surprising
if one takes into account the number of TV sets distributed to the
public by Karapetyan and the cost of free charitable excursions to
Lake Sevan organized by him. It is remarkable that according to the
declaration, the annual income of the Albatros beach on Lake Sevan,
which is Karapetyan’s property, amounted to only 20,000 drams a month,
taking into consideration the fact that it costs 30,000-40,000 drams
to rent one cottage on this coast.
We will present the other presidential hopefuls’ declarations in the
next issue. By the way, they are not less remarkable.