$2bln illegally acquired property must be returned to public between  2026 and 2031

ArmInfo. Ownership of a 51.9-square-meter property and a 0.082262-hectare land plot located on Aghayan Street in the Kentron community of Yerevan has been  returned to the Republic of Armenia. By decision of the RA Government  dated August 6, this property has been transferred to the State  Property Management Committee.

As RA Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure David  Khudatyan noted in his speech, this property was returned to state  ownership based on a claim filed by the RA Prosecutor General's  Office, which was upheld by the Anti-Corruption Court.

In this regard, RA Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan noted that on  January 23, 2026, the General Department for the Protection of State  Interests of the agency filed a lawsuit with the Anti-Corruption  Court against the Urban Development Committee's Expert Center for  Urban Development Programs OJSC and former Urban Development Minister  Vardan Vardanyan, seeking to invalidate the property purchase and  sale agreement concluded on December 27, 2008. In this case, the  Anti-Corruption Court issued a decision on April 14, 2026, upholding  the settlement agreement signed between the Prosecutor General's  Office of the Republic of Armenia and the defendant, Vardan  Vardanyan, on April 13, 2026. Based on this decision, the Republic of  Armenia's ownership of basement No. 97 of building No. 7 on Aghayan  Street in the Kentron community was registered on June 4, 2026.

In this regard, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reported that he  had received a report from a citizen alleging that property returned  to community ownership was once again under the control of its former  owners. "We need mechanisms to resolve this issue, but what happens  is that work is done, illegal property is returned to the state, and  then it reverts to the ownership of its former owners. This is  unacceptable," the head of government said. He called on RA Deputy  Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan to develop a platform for managing  the returned property.

He set the goal of returning $2 billion worth of illegally acquired  property to state or community ownership between 2026 and 2031.  According to Pashinyan, a solution to this problem is entirely  feasible, especially given the processes evident after the elections.