Vahan Kerobyan on criminal case involving Economy Ministry: Either  Prosecutor General`s Office closed criminal case without compensating  damage caused to state, or there was no damage

ArmInfo. It is important for me to restore the reputation of my colleagues, and we will do everything  to challenge the decision in court and justify them. Former Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan stated on June 26 during an interview.

Notably, we are talking about employees of the Ministry of Economy  who, within the framework of the criminal case, admitted their guilt  to mitigate the decision of the investigative bodies and terminate  the criminal prosecution.

Kerobyan conditioned such a decision on the presence of numerous  provisions in the indictment that do not correspond to reality, as  well as the violation of Article 82 of the Criminal Code of Armenia.  As he noted, in the latter, there is a mandatory requirement  regarding compensation for damage caused to the state if the  prosecution of a person who has admitted guilt is terminated. In this  context, the ex-minister noted that, firstly, the amount of damage  was significantly reduced in the case materials, and secondly, the  criminal case was terminated without fulfilling this requirement.  "And it turns out that either the Prosecutor General's Office  terminated the criminal case without compensation for damage, or  there was no damage?," Kerobyan asked.

He also stated that when the case materials are published, it will  become obvious that there are no manifestations of corruption, and  there is not even talk of kickbacks. In particular, the former  government official drew attention to the fact that the Synergy  company, which appears in the case, is a long-term partner of the UN,  selling its products in 80 countries around the world. "The number of  such Armenian companies can be counted on the fingers. And in this  regard, talking about corruption is unacceptable," Kerobyan noted. He  also considers the accusations against Ani Gevorgyan, the  daughter-in-law of the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen  Simonyan, absurd. In particular, Kerobyan emphasized that Gevorgyan  was neither a top manager nor a shareholder of the company, and,  moreover, had no influence on the adoption of certain decisions.  During the interview, Kerobyan also spoke about tense relations with  a number of officials, including the head of the National Security  Service of Armenia, deputy prime ministers, and the head of the Prime  Minister's office. Without disclosing any details, he only noted that  he did not fulfill the requests of the head of the National Security  Service, which contradicted his principles.  Regarding the deputy  heads of government, Kerobyan noted that the latter often torpedoed  important programs for the country's economic development, which is  why tensions in relations were increasingly growing.

"The implementation of government programs is 99% filtered by the  deputy prime ministers. We were determined to fulfill the tasks set  before us 100%. But there were many disagreements that led to tension  in relations. This applies to both deputy prime ministers. And  instead of receiving their support, we faced resistance," the former  Minister of Economy noted. In particular, he pointed to a number of  artificial barriers being created in the implementation of certain  projects. When asked to provide at least one example, Kerobyan spoke  about a project for unhindered transit for Armenian freight carriers  through the territory of Iran, that is, about the removal of transit  payments. The corresponding memorandum, according to the ex-minister,  was concluded back in 2021. the Minister of Road Construction signed  the document from the Iranian side. "This would simplify access for  our freight carriers not only to the Iranian market, but also to the  countries of the Middle East, India, etc. The transportation costs  that apply to Armenian trucks are such that no one wants to use this  road. As a result, we are losing a huge market," he noted.  When  asked why the project has not been implemented yet, Kerobyan asked to  direct the question to Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. He  emphasized that there were no serious justifications for this,  colleagues from the State Revenue Committee, the Ministry of  Territorial Administration and Infrastructure were also in favor of  implementing the project. "I have no explanation why. And this is a  vital issue for Armenia, since we are talking about a region with  high potential," the former Minister of Economy emphasized.

Speaking about his upcoming actions, Kerobyan noted that he does not  intend to join the opposition movements, but will return to business  activities.

A criminal case against a number of officials of the Ministry of  Economy and representatives of the private sector was initiated on  January 31 of this year. According to the investigation, within the  framework of the tender "Creation of a bank of public investment  programs" officials colluded with the head of one of the companies,  creating artificial obstacles for the participation of its  competitor. As a result, the company (Synergy) won, having submitted  an expensive bid three times (by 392 million drams - almost $ 100  thousand). The following were arrested in the case: Director of  Synergy Ashot Hovhannisyan; former employee of the company,  daughter-in-law of the speaker of parliament Ani Gevorgyan; another  employee of the company Lili Mkryan (Gevorgyan and Mkryan were  released on bail, written undertaking not to leave and surety), as  well as the heads of the department of public investment policy and  implementation of agricultural programs of the Ministry of Economy  Lili Sirakanyan and Taron Martirosyan. The dismissed Deputy Minister  of Economy Ani Ispiryan was placed under house arrest.