CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST ROYAL ARMENIA’S MANAGEMENT SENT TO COURT
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The preliminary investigation of the
criminal case against the management of Royal Armenia Ltd was completed
and the case has been sent to court. Gevorg Minasian, the company’s
lawyer, said this at the October 20 press conference. To recap, the
case started on March 10, 2005. On the 7th month of the investigation,
the company’s co-owner Gagik Hakobian and deputy director Aram
Ghazarian were arrested. They were accused of smuggling, non-payment
of taxes, document forgery, legalization of financial resources in
an illegal way, and G. Hakobian – also of fraud. During the press
conference, representatives of Royal-Armenia expressed discontent that
by the investigator’s decision, a 38,400-kg and 76,800-kg shipments
of green coffee that the company received from abroad continue to be
under arrest. They are not customs-cleaned, as a result of which 2
trucks and 6 containers of the foreign transporter have been under
"customs arrest" since September 27, 2006, for which Royal-Armenia
will bear property responsibility to the foreign transporter.
"This action with respect to the company is a previously planned
damage which has no bearing to justice and law," the application
sent to the RA president, prime minister and prosecutor general
reads. According to the application, the company was forced to stop
the process of production and to dismiss 48 employees. Representatives
of Royal-Armenia believe that the investigator’s decision and the
inaction of customs employees are not justified.
According to them, Ltd is not a civil defendant in this criminal
case, and as a legal entity and a independent subject of the law
is not responsible for the liabilities of its participants. "Even
if we admit that the Ltd participants committed an offence, it is
not a reason to put an arrest on the raw material imported by the
company," the company representatives stated. According to them,
in such a case sanctions may be used with respect to the defendants’
property and their shares in the company’s capital.