SO, YOU SAY IT’S FOR A WEDDING?

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.
VREZH AHARONYAN

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