SINGLE SOURCE PROCUREMENTS: TAXPAYERS ASSIST BUSINESS INTERESTS OF FORMER MINISTER OF HEALTH’S SONS

Tatev Khachatryan

14:19, March 12, 2015

The state budget has become the main source for government officials
and their relatives to develop their businesses. Oftentimes, companies
that win state procurement tenders are linked, in one way or another,
to various government officials.

63 million AMD contract goes to company owned by son of former Armenian
health minister

Bianco Dental Clinic, the company owned by Hrant Dumanyan, son of
former Armenian Minister of Health Derenik Dumanyan was awarded
the contract based on the following stipulation of the “Law on
Procurements”:

Article 23. Conditions for use of single-source procurement

Procurement can be single-source, if: a) the goods, works or
services to be procured can be purchased only from one source, due
to copyright and adjacent rights, lack of competition or license. b)
Owing to an emergency or contingency, there is an urgent need for
procurement and, in terms of time, it is impossible to use another
form of procurement, provided, this need was impossible to predict
as well as, if the procurement item is not covered in signed periodic
procurement contracts.

Bianco was founded in May 2011 and is solely owned by Hrant Dumanyan.

The clinic’s director is Kamsar Kostanyan, a relative of Derenik
Dumanyan’s wife Anahit. Artour Dumanyan, another son of Derenik
Dumanyan who currently serves as an assistant to the head of personnel
of the Ministry of Health’s Food Safety Service, is also affiliated
with Bianco.

The 2011 single source procurements made by the Ministry Of Health
are missing from the government’s e-gov.am website. There is data for
only three single source procurement contracts that the ministry made
in 2012.

On February 8, 2013, the Ministry of Health and Bianco signed two
contracts with Bianco – one for 3.176 million AMD and another for
17 million. Both were for out of hospital services. On February 18,
2014, two contracts totaling 21.7 million AMD were signed for the
same services.

Contracts were signed with Bianco both when Derenik Dumanyan served
as minister and afterwards.

On February 2 of this year two single source contracts totaling
21 million AMD were signed with Bianco. Thus, from 2013 – 2015
the government signed six contracts totaling 63 million AMD with
Bianco Ltd.

Gurgen Dumanyan’s animal and pharmacy businesses

Gurgen Dumanyan

Gurgen Dumanyan, the eldest son of Derenik Dumanyan, currently serves
as the first deputy to Davit Harutyunyan, the Armenian government’s
chief of staff. Gurgen Dumanyan owns 10% in the Fauna Zoological Garden
established in 2005. The other 70% is owned by Artour Khachatryan,
a person involved in Armenia’s trade of endangered animals that Hetq
has extensively covered.

As stated in its charter, Fauna is engaged in the retail trade of
mainly foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco products in non-specialized
stores.

Gurgen Dumanyan, a former director of the Ministry of Health’s “Health
Programs Implementation Office”, also owns shares in a number of
companies temporarily not operating.

The tourism sector

Derenik Dumanyan’s family also has its fingers in the tourism sector.

Prior to 2012, his wife Anahit owned 25% in Yan Voyage. This company
signed an air services contract with the Procurement Assistance Center
SNCO in October 2013.

The company was founded in 2010 and operates as a tour operator
in addition to offering real estate purchasing services in Armenia
and overseas.