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FORMER US AMBASSADOR ON SARGSYAN'S AND KOCHARIAN'S POLITICAL/ECONOMIC PYRAMIDS
epress.am
09.08.2011 00:32
"Armenian politics is winner-take-all, and this very much applies not
only to the political spoils, but very often to the leading business
and economic spoils as well. This is one reason that Armenian politics
have become so implacable," begins comments by former US Ambassador
to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch in a confidential diplomatic cable
dated Nov. 17, 2009 recently released by WikiLeaks.
"Moreover, one outcome of the 2008 presidential election was the
break-down of a tacit 'live and let live' pact that had previously
allowed some business figures who supported former President Levon
Ter-Petrossian (LTP) - most notably oligarch Khachatur "Grzo"
Sukiasyan, who controlled the SIL Group of businesses - to continue
to hold lucrative interests after Ter-Petrossian's 1998 ouster. When
LTP fell in what amounted to a non-violent palace coup, one of the
unspoken deals was that so long as LTP and his business allies kept out
of politics and made no trouble for the new regime, they would be left
alone. With Grzo's open support of LTP's 2008 presidential campaign,
all bets were off. The SIL Group has been substantially disassembled,
and its most lucrative assets seized and effectively transferred
(by rigged court actions) into the hands of loyalists of President
Serzh Sargsyan," Yovanovitch writes.
The US diplomat notes that one "well-connected" businessman agreed to
speak "candidly and confidentially" about the major economic interests
of leading political figures:
"It was clear that this information is very sensitive. During the
conversation, our interlocutor spoke freely and confidently about the
latest insider political party intrigues and confidential political
dealings to which he was privy. When the conversation turned to
oligarchs, monopolies, and business ownership, his body language
changed completely: he leaned forward and lowered his voice, and there
were certain questions he deferred until a presumed later meeting
'outside Yerevan,' a conversation which did not ultimately transpire."
Yovanovitch notes that with the information provided by the
businessman, as well as the embassy's own sources, it became clear
almost all of the most lucrative sectors and enterprises in Armenia are
divided into one of two major political/economic pyramids: one headed
by Serzh Sargsyan; the other, by former president Robert Kocharian.
In the Sargsyan camp are Mika company (which includes the Armenian
national airline Armavia) owner Mikhail Baghdasarov, fuel import
company Flash and Ararat bank owner Barsegh Beglaryan (who Yovanovitch
calls "Nikolai Barsegh"), notorious businessman and MP Samvel
Aleksanyan ("Lfik Samo"), Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan, Serzh
Sargsyan's son-in-law Misha Minasyan, businessman Harutyun Pambukyan,
the president's brother Alexander "Sashik" Sargsyan, businessman
and Football Federation of Armenia chair Ruben Hayrapetyan ("Nemets
Rubo"), and businessman Hrant Vardanyan, who Yovanvotich is told is
the wealthiest man in Armenia.
In the Kocharian camp, Yovanovitch names Prosperous Party leader,
prominent businessman and MP Gagik Tsarukyan ("Dodi Gago"),
Kocharian's son Sedrak Kocharian, and former minister of transport
and communications, businessman Andranik Manukyan.
Yovanovitch notes that National Assembly chair Hovik Abrahamyan
controls his own business empire which, though formerly part of the
Kocharian pyramid, is now increasingly autonomous.
The US diplomat concludes with a caution that all of the material
in the cable is from a single source who has a more oppositional
outlook, but is nevertheless well-connected to both government and
opposition figures.
"That said, all of what we have presented here more or less fits with
the prevailing understanding of the intersection between politics and
business. We will continue to seek additional sources to corroborate
this information for the benefit of Washington analysts," Yovanovitch
concludes.
epress.am
09.08.2011 00:32
"Armenian politics is winner-take-all, and this very much applies not
only to the political spoils, but very often to the leading business
and economic spoils as well. This is one reason that Armenian politics
have become so implacable," begins comments by former US Ambassador
to Armenia Marie L. Yovanovitch in a confidential diplomatic cable
dated Nov. 17, 2009 recently released by WikiLeaks.
"Moreover, one outcome of the 2008 presidential election was the
break-down of a tacit 'live and let live' pact that had previously
allowed some business figures who supported former President Levon
Ter-Petrossian (LTP) - most notably oligarch Khachatur "Grzo"
Sukiasyan, who controlled the SIL Group of businesses - to continue
to hold lucrative interests after Ter-Petrossian's 1998 ouster. When
LTP fell in what amounted to a non-violent palace coup, one of the
unspoken deals was that so long as LTP and his business allies kept out
of politics and made no trouble for the new regime, they would be left
alone. With Grzo's open support of LTP's 2008 presidential campaign,
all bets were off. The SIL Group has been substantially disassembled,
and its most lucrative assets seized and effectively transferred
(by rigged court actions) into the hands of loyalists of President
Serzh Sargsyan," Yovanovitch writes.
The US diplomat notes that one "well-connected" businessman agreed to
speak "candidly and confidentially" about the major economic interests
of leading political figures:
"It was clear that this information is very sensitive. During the
conversation, our interlocutor spoke freely and confidently about the
latest insider political party intrigues and confidential political
dealings to which he was privy. When the conversation turned to
oligarchs, monopolies, and business ownership, his body language
changed completely: he leaned forward and lowered his voice, and there
were certain questions he deferred until a presumed later meeting
'outside Yerevan,' a conversation which did not ultimately transpire."
Yovanovitch notes that with the information provided by the
businessman, as well as the embassy's own sources, it became clear
almost all of the most lucrative sectors and enterprises in Armenia are
divided into one of two major political/economic pyramids: one headed
by Serzh Sargsyan; the other, by former president Robert Kocharian.
In the Sargsyan camp are Mika company (which includes the Armenian
national airline Armavia) owner Mikhail Baghdasarov, fuel import
company Flash and Ararat bank owner Barsegh Beglaryan (who Yovanovitch
calls "Nikolai Barsegh"), notorious businessman and MP Samvel
Aleksanyan ("Lfik Samo"), Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan, Serzh
Sargsyan's son-in-law Misha Minasyan, businessman Harutyun Pambukyan,
the president's brother Alexander "Sashik" Sargsyan, businessman
and Football Federation of Armenia chair Ruben Hayrapetyan ("Nemets
Rubo"), and businessman Hrant Vardanyan, who Yovanvotich is told is
the wealthiest man in Armenia.
In the Kocharian camp, Yovanovitch names Prosperous Party leader,
prominent businessman and MP Gagik Tsarukyan ("Dodi Gago"),
Kocharian's son Sedrak Kocharian, and former minister of transport
and communications, businessman Andranik Manukyan.
Yovanovitch notes that National Assembly chair Hovik Abrahamyan
controls his own business empire which, though formerly part of the
Kocharian pyramid, is now increasingly autonomous.
The US diplomat concludes with a caution that all of the material
in the cable is from a single source who has a more oppositional
outlook, but is nevertheless well-connected to both government and
opposition figures.
"That said, all of what we have presented here more or less fits with
the prevailing understanding of the intersection between politics and
business. We will continue to seek additional sources to corroborate
this information for the benefit of Washington analysts," Yovanovitch
concludes.