SO, YOU SAY IT’S FOR A WEDDING?
Vrezh Aharonyan
Hayots Ashkharh Daily
18 July 07
This is how is a revolution is financed
As we know, ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanyan, detained May 7,
has been under arrest since May 10. It didn’t, naturally, take some
people much time to present him as someone bearing the crown of a
person subjected to political persecution.
In the previous issue of "Hayots Ashkharh" we already reminded you
that Vahan Shirkhanyan and Alexander Arzoumanyan met Levon Grigor
Marcos in Moscow April 24-26 and reached a certain agreement with
him. It is worth reminding you that Levon Grigor Marcos was under
investigation then. As a result, a sum of 178200 US dollars was very
rapidly transferred to the "Conversebank", Yerevan, on the accounts
of 9 individuals.
The other noteworthy fact is that, having been in Moscow just the
previous day, both A. Arzoumanyan and V. Shirkhanyan did not directly
bring the money to Yerevan. The option of transferring it on the
accounts of other persons was found more preferable. Why…?
We believe the inquest will help find out the answer to that question.
And before that we obtained the following information from the
Press Secretary of the Prosecutor General, "As a result of the joint
investigative operations with the Russian law enforcement officials,
8 among the 9 citizens, on whose accounts the sum of 178.200 US
Dollars was transferred from Moscow to Yerevan April 27 and 28, were
interrogated (one of them was interrogated in Yerevan). The latter
gave evidence that they had no information with regard to the sums
transferred on their accounts; they had nothing to do with them and
didn’t know the individuals on whose accounts money was transferred
to Yerevan.
Sashik Aghazaryan has been interrogated in Moscow too, pursuant to the
motion submitted to the inquest authority by Alexander Arzoumanyan’s
attorney. S. Ghazaryan insisted that he had transferred the sum
at the request of A. Arzoumanyan. The money was transferred on the
accounts of 9 different individuals, and it was A. Arzoumanyan that
gave S. Aghazaryan the personal data of those people. As to why
the transfers were made on the accounts of placemen without their
knowledge, S. Aghazaryan made no comment in that regard. S. Aghazaryan
also reported that he didn’t know Vahan Shirkhanyan and had transferred
no sum on his account."
Interested in this story, we managed to find out from other sources
that no written document was available; at least there was no factual
evidence that the transfer was made by S. Aghazaryan. That’s to say,
it is quite probable that the transfers were actually made by someone
else, for instance, Levon Marcos, and now S. Aghazaryan is trying to
shoulder the responsibility himself.
Another noteworthy piece of information: Levon Ordyan, a relative
of Artak Chobanyan, V. Shirkhanyan’s son-in-law, was interrogated in
Moscow. According to A. Chobanyan, Levon Ordyan had transferred to him
a sum of 20.000 US Dollars at his request. However, L. Ordyan refuted
the statements made by L. Shirkhanyan’s son-in-law and insisted that A.
Chobanyan had not requested any sum and he had not transferred money
to him.
V. Shirkhanyan’s statements and testimonies were not substantiated
either.
According to S. Aghazaryan, the 178.200 US Dollars transferred to
Yerevan constituted the sum requested by Alexander Arzoumanyan with
the purpose of improving his living standards. A sum of $ 50 000
was found as a result of the search carried out in A. Arzoumanyan’s
apartment. Later, A. Arzoumanyan’s attorney H. Arsenyan made the
following statement in connection with the origins of the sum, "You
may ask S. Aghazaryan; he has publicized in the media that the money
was transferred by him.
The law enforcement officials have, of course, interrogated the
latter and undisclosed all the facts mentioned above. However, there
is, at the same time, another problem: Alisa Shirkhanyan and Artak
Chobanyan, V. Chobanyan’s daughter and son-in-law respectively, and,
according to some available information, another familiar person,
withdrew a significant portion of the sum from the bank.
V. Shirkhanyan himself said that his friends had transferred to him
a sum of $ 80.000, on condition of return. He also reported that his
daughter and son-in-law as well as two more persons were to receive
the money at his request. His daughter, son-in-law and another person
withdrew the money transferred they had transferred. V. Shirkhanyan
also pointed out that his friends has transferred those sums with
the purpose of his daughter’s wedding and some construction work. By
the way, his testimonies were also affirmed by A. Shirkhanyan and
A. Chobanyan. However …
An attentive reader has already noticed that the information provided
by V. Shirkhanyan contradicts S. Aghazaryan’s testimony with respect
to both the person who sent the money and the purpose for which it
was sent.
Let’s also note that having given a false testimony is not the only
problem emerging in such circumstances. In case there is substantial
evidence available, A. Arzoumanyan, S. Aghazaryan (and very probably,
V. Shirkhanyan) will be held accountable for a misdemeanor committed
under Article 190 of the criminal code. The matter is addressed to
legalizing illegally obtained income ("money laundering"): concealing
the true essence, origin and whereabouts of the sum or the rights
pertaining to it, its placement, movement or actual identity.
We do not mean that the above-mentioned sum was sent to Armenia for
illicit purposes. However, if there was no such goal or any other
ulterior motive, how come that those sums were transferred on the
accounts of nine individuals who were unaware of the transaction
and did not even visit the Trade Financing Bank? How come that A,
Arzoumanyan and V. Shirkhanyan preferred to receive those sums through
other persons instead of withdrawing them personally?
We will most probably discuss in the near future who Sashik Aghazaryan
really is, what relations he has with Levon Marcos, why especially
the Trade Financing Bank was chosen etc.