ArmInfo. In response to the July 23 report of the Investigative Committee that the ex-head of the Gndevaz community in 2014, through alienation, transferred to his son a land plot that was the property of the community and in 2015 this land was sold to Lydian Armenia CJSC at an incomparably high price, made a response statement.
The message of Lydian Armenia, in particular, says that in 2015 the company acquired a land plot from his property garden for 147 million drams.
"The report of the Investigative Committee has given rise to various ignorant comments and malicious manipulations by critics of the Amulsar project," the statement said.
The company declares that it has acquired land from 145 owners of the Gndevaz community exclusively on the same conditions, according to the same evaluation criteria, the total value of which amounted to 1.3 billion drams. In addition, none of the 145 owners of the Gndevaz community had a legal dispute with the company. Pricing was based on the legislation of Armenia, as well as on the basis of the best international standards. The price included not only the market value of the land, but also a detailed study, including an assessment of the land, the presence of trees and crops, their number and age, yield and other criteria. <These criteria were applied in assessing the property of all landowners. Evaluation criteria are open, transparent and always available on the company's website (https://www.lydianarmenia.am/images/2016/ccc/LALRP_arm.pdf)>, - the report says.
Recall that Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International, whose shareholders are also major international institutional investors from the United States, Great Britain, and a number of European countries, including the EBRD. The company initiated the Amulsar project - the largest industrial project in Armenia today for the development of the Amulsar gold ore deposit with a total value of $ 370 million. In August 2016, the project for the construction and development of the deposit was launched. Preparatory work has been going on since 2006. However, last year after the "velvet revolution", environmental activists opposing the exploitation of the field blocked the company's operations, and the government appointed a new independent environmental impact assessment.