Tuesday, August 13 2024 12:09

ArmInfo.  A new criminal case has  been initiated against Mikael Minasyan, the former Armenian  Ambassador to the Vatican and son-in-law of former President Serzh  Sargsyan. Minasyan is involved in 76 episodes within the new case.

, Samvel  Hakobyan, Head of the Prosecutor General's Office Department for  Crimes against Economic Activity, told PTA.

According to the representative of the supervisory body, Mikael  Minasyan, who served as the First Deputy Chief of Staff of the  President from 2009 to 2012 and then as the RA Ambassador to the  Vatican, used his position to acquire shares in a number of companies  operating in Armenia and abroad. The turnover of the companies'  accounts both in the RA and offshore amounted to hundreds of millions  of dollars. Minasyan also established control over a number of media  and television companies in the RA.

According to the indictment, the former ambassador is accused of  embezzling 600 million drams worth of property from the State Radio  of Armenia, 18 billion drams worth of funds from the Zangezur Copper  and Molybdenum Combine, illegally acquiring 48% of the shares of the  company "Spayka" and 48% of the shares of the TV company "Shant",  etc. In another episode, Minasyan prevented the construction of a  cafe by Manvel Ter-Arakelyan (owner of the company "Old Erivan  Holding") on the territory around the Spendiaryan National Opera and  Ballet Theater.

As a result of all these actions, the state suffered damages in the  amount of about $350 million.

There are 13 people involved in the case, three of them, including  the director of Yerevan Mall Vazrik Sekoyan, the owner of DoubleTree  by Hilton Tigran Egoyan, have been arrested.

Since 2020, Mikael Minasyan has been accused of illegal enrichment,  submitting false information in the income and property declaration,  and legalization of property obtained by criminal means; he has been  put on the wanted list.