THE GOLD OF THE CENTRAL BANK

Lragir, Armenia
Feb 7 2008

The president of the Central Bank stated at the parliament that he
has instructed the legal department of the bank to go to court. The
problem is, according to Tigran Sargsyan, that in the pre-election
period statements are made which denigrate the Central Bank. Namely
Tigran Sargsyan mentioned the deal on the gold reserve of the bank.

According to him, the bank has extended a detailed statement of this
deal to the parliament. "The essence of this deal is that we bought an
ounce for 280 dollars and sold for 400 dollars, and draw an income of
3.5 billion," said the president of the bank, ARKA reports. Tigran
Sargsyan said such deals are made constantly, and the volume of
the deal was not big 15 million dollars, while the external reserve
of the Central Bank totals 1.5 billion dollars. According to him,
the deal is interpreted "as if we rob the state, selling the gold
reserve." According to him, they have avoided similar deals in the
past few years, considering the unstable prices of gold and precious
stones on the international markets.