FINE OF DENO GOLD MINING COMPANY CUT 20 TIMES DUE TO RECHECK BY STATE ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTION

ArmInfo
2010-04-09 16:08:00

ArmInfo. "For Ensuring Ecological Safety and Developing Democracy"
NGO says Deno Gold Mining Company managed to reduce the amount of
the fine from 300 million AMD to 12 million AMD as a result of the
recheck by the State Environmental Inspection of the Ministry of
Nature Protection of RA, Ecolur NGO reports.

The written application to Alexander Sahakyan, new Head of State
Environmental Inspection of the Ministry of Nature Protection of RA
(Ø 011 dated on 08.04.2010), the NGO points out the public speeches of
Syunik Environmental State Inspection in the local press in 2008. The
representatives of Syunik Environmental State Inspection spoke about
the checkups of Deno Gold Mining in 2007 where a number of violations
in the sphere of soil management had been revealed. There is also
information about the amount of the fine imposed on the company in
the amount of over 300 million AMD equal to embezzling 550 kg of gold.

Then the letter mentions the recheck of the company assigned by the
Ministry of Nature protection of RA already in 2008. As a result of
this recheck, the amount of the fine determined in 2007 was reduced
more than 20 times and made up 12 million AMD. The statement also
mentions Expert Samvel Gasparyan’s removal from the personnel of the
recheck committee who first revealed the abovementioned violations.

Still in 2009 this NGO applied to the Ministry of Nature Protection
of RA, Syunik Territorial State Environmental Inspection and Deno
Gold Mining Company with a request to submit the results for 2007-
2008, but no reply had been received so far. "After this fuss around
Akhtala Ore Processing Combine we realized why we hadn’t received these
results," the letter says, "we learnt from the press that Director
General of Akhtala Ore Processing Combine Vladimir Ladchenko and
his deputy Levon Vardanyan were invited to the Minister of Nature
Protection of RA Aram Harutyunyan and afterwards the amount of this
fine was reduced by 20 times, i.e. from 202 million AMD to 10,141,600
AMD." The letter also says that they brought an action to the court
with demand to present information and filed a motion the Ministry
of Nature Protection of RA and Syunik Territorial State Environmental
Inspection to be involved in this process.