According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic, a criminal case against the Smbatyans (only initials are given in the department’s report), as well as businessman A.P. was initiated on 27 July. The investigation believes that in 2012, the defendants in the case submitted to the government a fictitious investment program “Book World” for 800 million drams (more than $2 million at the current exchange rate) for the construction of a multifunctional complex. The program was timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of book printing in Armenia and the UNESCO recognition of Yerevan as the 2012 World Book Capital.
As a result, they fraudulently acquired a land plot in Yerevan with an area of 300 sq. m and worth 166.1 million drams (more than $432 thousand), provided for free use to the Yerevan secondary music school. As a result, the budget was damaged by 966.1 million drams ($2.5 million).
The day before, the Smbatyans were detained, the third defendant is on the wanted list. They were charged with fraud on an especially large scale.
“Sputnik-Armenia”, 31.07.2023, “A businessman arrested in Yerevan, who is involved in the case of Armen and Sergey Smbatyanov”: The court of first instance in Yerevan at a meeting on Monday arrested businessman A.P. – a defendant in a criminal case involving former Armenian Ambassador to Israel Armen Smbatyan and his son, chief conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra Sergey Smbatyan. As Sputnik Armenia was told in the Prosecutor General’s Office, the businessman was placed in custody for a period of two months. According to our information, we are talking about businessman Armen Petrosyan, who, according to investigators, is involved in a fraudulent scheme. — Inset K.ru
This is not the first case against the ex-ambassador related to the alienation of property. In 2021 Smbatyan accused that he helped the former Minister of Culture and Deputy Head of the Armenian Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Hasmik Poghosyan in the illegal registration of a land plot in Yerevan, on which a building of historical and cultural value is located. According to investigators, the building and land were sold for $550,000 to an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The firm belonged to Poghosyan’s daughter-in-law. Smbatyan was then charged with facilitating abuse, abuse of power and money laundering. As a measure of restraint, a bail of 20 million drams (about $40,000 at that time) was chosen for him.
The defense insisted that the building in the center of Yerevan needed reconstruction and investment, so it was alienated. “The alienation process was carried out exclusively through legal and transparent transactions, and Ambassador Armen Smbatyan has never been and is not a shareholder of the building. Therefore, the accusation regarding the legalization of illegal property does not need comments, ”said the lawyer.
Kommersant.Ru, 07/30/2023, “A court in Yerevan arrested the ex-ambassador of Armenia to the Russian Federation on charges of fraud”: Armen Smbatyan was the rector of the Yerevan State Conservatory from 1995 to 2002. From 1996 to 1998 he was the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs of Armenia, the Ambassador of Armenia to the Russian Federation from 2002 to 2010. In 2010-2013, he headed the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS Member States. From 2018 to 2021, he was the Ambassador of the Republic to Israel. — Inset K.ru
