Former Vanadzor Mayor and his brother sold the hydroelectric station operating on the Martz river for 50,000 AMD, where Prime Minister Pashinyan’s brother became the director.
The dubious deal was concluded between the Darbinyan brothers and Yuri Kokobelyan, the 20-year-old nephew of Chair of "Free Democrats" party, Khachatur Kokobelyan, two months before last year's parliamentary elections. According to the state register, Armen Pashinyan, the brother of the prime minister, who lived in Russia and returned to Armenia after the 2018 revolution, became the director of the company on the very day of the sale.
After the written request filed by "Azatutyun", the state registry provided the one-and-a-half-page sales contract, which says: "Sellers sell their 100 percent shares to the buyer with ownership rights. The sale price of the shares is set at AMD 50,000 with the agreement of the parties.
Moreover, according to the articles of association incorporated in the same register, the value of the share of "Argishti-2" company, which operates the HPP, sold for 50,000 AMD, is about 250 million AMD.
Avoiding talking about the details of the sale, the Darbinyans simultaneously deny that they gave up the profitable business in exchange for the dismissal of the criminal cases against them.
It is clear that just a few months after this transaction, the court found the guilt of the former community head Samvel Darbinyan in illegally expropriating the territories of Vanadzor and causing 60 million AMD damage to the community, and at the same time decided to dismiss the case on the grounds that the statute of limitations for the crime had expired.
Avoiding talking about the details of the sale, the Darbinyans simultaneously deny that they gave up the profitable business in exchange for the dismissal of the criminal cases against them.
It is clear that just a few months after this transaction, the court found the guilt of the former community head Samvel Darbinyan in illegally expropriating the territories of Vanadzor and causing 60 million AMD damage to the community, and at the same time decided to dismiss the case on the grounds that the statute of limitations for the crime had expired.
Moreover, this hydroelectric station belonging to the Darbinyans was involved in a scandalous criminal case since 2019. The prosecution brought facts that during the same Samvel Darbinyan's tenure in 2010, the Vanadzor wastewater treatment plant was illegally expropriated. Darbinyan organized a fake auction and sold the 240-million-dram-worth station to his relative for 60 million AMD, which was 4 times cheaper than its price. The law enforcement officers have doubts that the pipes and expensive equipment of the station purchased at a cheap price were used in the construction of the Darbinyans’ HPP.
In fact, during the preliminary investigation, which has been going on for three years, the law enforcement officers have not yet found out how the former mayor Samvel Darbinyan expropriated the waste water treatment plant built in the Soviet years and was not put into operation, how the structure under the responsibility of the community leader was looted. Where were the equipment and pipes taken? Were they used to build the Darbinyan hydroelectric station?
The prosecutor's office told the "Azatutyun" that there are still no defendants involved in the case. The question is also unanswered if it is finally confirmed that the expensive equipment reached the former mayor's HPP illegally, will this lead to any criminal liability, especially now that the Darbinyans have already sold the property and the new owner has appointed the prime minister's brother as director.
July 11, 2022 at 14:38