Gyumri ex-mayor`s lawyer refutes statement by RA Prosecutor General`s  Office 

ArmInfo. Former Gyumri Mayor Samvel Balasanyan acquired the legally and is a bona fide purchaser. This is stated in a statement by Balasanyan's lawyer  Tigran Grigoryan in response to the statement released yesterday by  the Prosecutor General's Office.

In particular, on March 10, 2025, Balasanyan, responding to Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan's accusations about the illegal  privatization of land plots around the famous , drew  attention to the fact that the criminal case concerns not the  fortress itself, but the land plots adjacent to it. In response, the  Prosecutor General's Office stated that the former mayor's statement  is incorrect and does not correspond to reality, since the is also the subject of an investigation within the  framework of the criminal proceedings being investigated by the  Investigative Committee.

It was noted that by the relevant government decree, the "Black  Fortress" of Gyumri was included in the balance sheet of the RA  Ministry of Defense, and then included in the state list of immovable  cultural and historical monuments of the Shirak region. On April 22,  2005, it was transferred to the Ministry of Defense on the right of  ownership, and high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense and  Justice, violating the requirements of the law "On immovable  historical and cultural monuments considered state property and not  subject to alienation", illegally organized the process of alienation  of the fortress-monument "Black Fortress" in Gyumri to an individual.

"I assume that the Prime Minister was given incorrect information,  and now they are trying to hide it with such statements,"  Balasanyan's lawyer notes.

According to him, there is a legally binding civil court decision  regarding the "Black Fortress." The plaintiff in this court case was  the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, the claim  was rejected by the civil court of first instance, and the ministry  did not even appeal the verdict, realizing that its claim was  unfounded. As for the criminal case initiated in 2020 (regarding the  "Black Fortress"), according to lawyer Grigoryan, it was terminated  by the Special Investigative Service (SIS) back in April 2021 due to  the lack of corpus delicti.

  have already passed.

I would like to note that I, as Samvel Balasanyan's defense attorney,  have not received any procedural documents on the criminal  proceedings related to the "Black Fortress", Samvel Balasanyan has  not received such a procedural act, and if the Prosecutor General,  for example, canceled the 2021 decision of the SIS investigator to  terminate the case, I have no idea when and on what grounds, then we  were not notified of this in the prescribed manner, and from the  moment of proper notification, we will definitely appeal such an  illegal decision in court.

I would like to add that Samvel Balasanyan acquired the "Black  Fortress" legally and is a bona fide purchaser, therefore there can  be no talk of any criminal prosecution, "- Balasanyan's lawyer  summarizes.

On October 28, 2024, Gyumri Mayor Vardges Samsonyan resigned. At the  same time, the members of the Council of Elders of the Balasanyan  bloc resigned. This happened after a criminal case was opened against  the founder of the bloc, former mayor Samvel Balasanyan, who is  accused of abuse of power or official authority, money laundering on  an especially large scale, as well as illegal alienation of land  plots around the famous Black Fortress (a preventive measure in the  form of arrest was chosen against him, he is wanted). A public  criminal prosecution has been instituted against Samvel Balasanyan's  son, Khachatur Balasanyan, under paragraph 3 of part 3 of article 296  of the current Criminal Code (money laundering on an especially large  scale). He was detained.

On November 8, the meeting of the Gyumri Council of Elders to elect a  new mayor of the city failed due to the lack of a quorum. The acting  mayor was appointed by the Prime Minister of Armenia from among the  candidates of the ruling party based on the results of the primaries;  Sarik Minasyan became the mayor.  Nine political forces - six parties  and three blocs - have applied to participate in the snap elections  to the Gyumri Community Council scheduled for March 30.

On March 9, this year, in Gyumri, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated  that . According to  political scientists, the Armenian authorities are trying to take  control of Gyumri in ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.