Armenia`s Finance Minister  interrogated in a case involving an  official`s illegal participation in entrepreneurial activity

ArmInfo.  Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan was interrogated two days ago as a witness in a criminal case involving an official's illegal participation in entrepreneurial activity. Hovhannisyan shared this information during a press conference on January 21.

He added that he doesn't understand what is meant when asked about  "illegal entrepreneurship." "I haven't been involved in  entrepreneurship since I became a civil servant, although there were  some initiatives before that," he said.

In early 2025, it was reported that the Court of Appeals ordered the  Anti-Corruption Court to initiate criminal proceedings against  Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan. As reported by lawyer  Ara Zohrabyan, on the day of his appointment as Deputy Minister of  Finance-August 18, 2021-Vahe Hovhannisyan received an interest-free  loan of $1,000,000, a donation of $50,000, and acquired 100% of the  shares of Caritas Italiana. According to the Minister's 2021 asset  declaration, a portion of Caritas Italiana (an IT company that  received state incentives as a startup) belongs to Hovhannisyan.  However, on January 10, 2022, the company was reorganized and renamed  J-Corder. Moreover, Vahe Hovhannisyan's asset declaration for the  same year indicates that he retained $1,050,000 in shares at the end  of the year. In his 2023 asset declaration, these shares "disappear."  "After the company's reorganization, its 100% owner became Rubik  Karapetyan, who, according to media reports, is Vahe Hovhannisyan's  uncle," Zohrabyan wrote.

Hovhannisyan himself assured journalists in May 2025 that he had no  connection with the aforementioned company since joining the  government service at the Ministry of Finance. According to the  Minister, after the 2020 war, he and a group of friends decided to  establish a technology park that would increase Armenia's  capabilities in various high-tech developments. "One of my friends  invested in this business and registered it as a debt. It was decided  that I should head the company. In August 2021, when I was appointed  deputy minister, I transferred the debt registered in my name and the  company to a third party.  To my knowledge, this company has made all  the investments and is now operational," Hovhannisyan said.  In  addition, the head of the Ministry of Finance assured that he was  unaware of the J-Corder company receiving tax benefits from the  Armenian government in 2023, exempting it from customs duties on  imported goods.