RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/30/2019

                                        Saturday, 

Authorities ‘Still Hunting’ For Sarkisian’s Fugitive Brother

        • Naira Nalbandian

Armenia -- President Serzh Sarkisian awards a medal to his brother Levon, March 
22, 2016.

Armenian law-enforcement authorities have so far been unable to track down and 
arrest a fugitive brother of former President Serzh Sarkisian facing corruption 
charges, Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian claimed on Friday.

Levon Sarkisian was charged with “illegal enrichment” after tax inspectors 
discovered in June that he and his two children hold almost $7 million in 
undeclared deposits at an Armenian bank.

Under Armenian law, such asset declarations are mandatory for high-ranking 
state officials and their family members. This legal requirement applies to 
Levon Sarkisian because he worked as ambassador-at-large at the Armenian 
Foreign Ministry until his brother was overthrown in last spring’s “velvet 
revolution.”

Levon Sarkisian is thought to have left Armenia shortly before being indicted. 
One of his business partners, Gabriel Jemberjian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
service in December that Sarkisian is now living abroad but planning to return 
to Armenia because “his issues should be solved very soon.”

The head of the National Security Service (NSS), Artur Vanetsian, stated 
recently that the ex-president’s brother is in Lebanon at the moment.

Davtian downplayed Vanetsian’s statement, arguing that it has not yet been 
officially confirmed by Lebanese authorities. “We can start an extradition 
process only if he is found and arrested [in a foreign country] and we are 
formally notified about that,” the chief prosecutor told reporters. “That has 
not happened yet.”

Also prosecuted is Serzh Sarkisian’s second, more controversial brother, 
Aleksandr. He was charged with fraud in February several months after the NSS 
had his $30 million bank account frozen as part of a separate criminal inquiry.

The NSS announced early this month that it has allowed Aleksandr Sarkisian to 
“temporarily” leave the country after he donated $19.6 million of that money to 
the Armenian military.

Sarkisian, who is better known as “Sashik,” also paid $6.5 million in back 
taxes. The nearly $3.9 million remaining in his frozen account will also be 
transferred to the state to fully settle his tax debt, according to the NSS.




Press Review



Lragir.am quotes a former Azerbaijani foreign minister, Tofik Zulfugarov, as 
predicting that Friday’s meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will end in failure. He says that the 
conflicting parties will fail to bridge their substantial differences on the 
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The online publication suggests 
that summit’s possible failure would lead to either a continued “imitation” of 
peace talks or an escalation of tensions of the Karabakh frontlines. “The 
Armenian side is reviewing the whole negotiating process and demanding a public 
interpretation [by Baku and the mediators] of the proposed principles [of the 
Karabakh settlement,]” it says.

“Zhoghovurd” describes as “quite sharp” Pashinian’s criticism of the United 
States which he voiced on Thursday. “It is the first time that Pashinian spoke 
about the United States in such a tough manner,” comments the paper. It notes 
that he also criticized the European Union during and after a July 2018 visit 
to Brussels and stressed the importance of respecting Armenia’s sovereignty in 
his first talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Why did at least 95 percent of the public support the revolution in April last 
year?” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “Because at least 95 percent of the public 
felt that Armenia needs radical changes, and in all areas.” The pro-government 
daily does not exclude that Pashinian’s approval ratings have fallen since 
then. But it insists that even those Armenians who are now disappointed with 
the prime minister continue to demand radical changes. They are only unhappy 
with the pace of those changes, it says. Some of them may also not like 
government efforts to make every citizen pay taxes, the planned downsizing of 
the state bureaucracy or a perceived lack of individuals jailed for corruption, 
according to the paper.

(Lilit Harutiunian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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