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THE KEYS TO UNLOCK THE ONGOING OFFSHORE SCANDAL EXIST, BUT WILL LAW ENFORCEMENT USE THEM
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
[28783.jpg] 11:11, August 20, 2013
Edik Baghdasaryan
Kristine Aghalaryan
Part 1, Part 2
AmeriaBank plays a pivotal role in the ongoing offshore scandal that
Hetq first broke and brought to the attention of the public.
Readers will remember that Ameria lent jeweller Sukiasyan U.S. 12
million, for which the property of businessman Paylak Hayrapetyan
was put up for collateral. Ameria also crafted the business plan at
the heart of the credit package.
$9,370,450 of the loan was transferred to the accounts of several
offshore companies held by Hellenic Bank Publik Company.
1. A.B.S. Global Limited - $7,020,450 2. Wlispera Holdings Limited -
$350,000 3. STR Emerald Limited - $2,000,000
Ameria never checked the documents related to Ashot Sukiasyan’s
business plan. According to accepted procedure, a representative of
the bank was required to travel to Sierra Leone to conduct an on-site
check of the information contained within the documents. One of the
banks lawyers should have accompanied Ashot Sukiasyan, the creditor,
to Africa but failed to do so. Nevertheless, the bank continued to
regularly make transfers to Cyprus.
In all, AmeriaBank transferred $10.7 million to Sukiasyan. A warrant
for his arrest was declared on charges of financial fraud. He is
still on the run.
Had the bank done its homework in the first place, it would have
revealed that Sukiasyan used the money to purchase large quantities
of gold, a Bentley automobile, a house, and to invest in construction
and in Metaks Group Ltd., among others.
One of the charges levied against Sukiasyan is the “legalizing
of large sums of illegally obtained income”, i.e., money
laundering. He used AmeriaBank to launder the money.
Some bank employees have been questioned on the matter, but Artak
Hanesyan, Chairman of the Management Board-General Director, has yet
to be. He remains the key to unlock the entire matter, but in all
likelihood Hanesyan will never be interrogated.
RA Prosecutor General must reveal why the case was sent to the Main
Criminal Department of the Police given that numerous officials,
including Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, have a hand in the matter.
Perhaps the key to unlock the offshore scandal is in the hand of
Gasparyan himself. That is if he reveals who gave the OK for Sukiasyan
to be permitted to leave Armenia in the first place.
Readers will remember that on the same day that Paylak Hayrapetyan
had filed a report with the Police Department’s Anti-Organized
Crime Division, Sukiasyan was detained trying to cross the border. He
was questioned and subsequently released.
Sukiasyan’s name was on the Police “black list”
from that day. So who made a discrete call from on high to have his
name removed, thus allowing him to flee Armenia soon afterwards?
Another person who has yet to be questioned is Ararat Diocese Locum
Tenens Archbishop Navasard Kjoyan. On two occasions he travelled to
Cyprus with Ashot Sukiasyan. Amazingly, case investigators seem to
have overlooked the possibility that Kjoyan is an important player
in the offshore scandal.
AmeriaBank officials appear calm and collected, confident that no
Armenian court will file suit against them. But Paylak Hayrapetyan
has declared that he will take the matter to the European Court.
Thus, AmeriaBank may just wind up on a list of banks known for money
laundering. Such a prospect surely doesn’t sit well with the
banks shareholders.
So, who are Ameria’s shareholders? Let’s first state that
the bank is registered offshore, in Cyprus.
AmeriaBank - A Who's Who
Detailed information about the bank is available on its website.
Charting the history of the bank, we read: In August 2007, the main
shareholding of the Bank (96%) was obtained by TDA Holdings Limited
(which was renamed Ameria Group (CY) Limited in November, 2011).
In 2007-2011, gradually increasing the Charter Capital of the Bank,
the major shareholder Ameria Group (CY) Limited increased its equity
participation up to 99.9988997%.
Now, let’s present some information not shown on the bank’s
website.
The bank’s sole shareholder, Ameria Group CY was registered
offshore in Cyprus on July 23, 2007. From the day of its founding
until June 15, 2012, Davit Sargsyan served as its CEO. Sargsyan heads
the legal services division of Ameria Group.
As of June 15, 2012, Andrei Lazarian has served as Ameria Group
CY’s Chief Executive Officer. He is also on the Board of
Directors of AmeriaBank.
Ameria Group CY has only one shareholder - a company called Montrago
Nominees Limited registered in Cyprus. We don’t know who owns
this company. Their names don’t appear on any documents. There
is only one name that shows up, that of Androyalla Papadopoyloy
(ΑΝΔΡΟΥΛΛΑ ΠΑΠΑΔΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ), listed as an authorized representative.
Even though the names of the actual shareholders don’t appear
on the documents, at least two of their names are widely known -
Ruben Vardanian, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AmeriaBank,
and Nubar Afeyan, a member of AmeriaBank’s Board of Directors.
Ashot Sukiasyan also received a $4.5 million loan from Prometey Bank.
If case investigators decide to question Prometey’s Board
President, perhaps he might muster the courage to reveal who telephoned
him for the loan and how Samvel (Navasard) Kjoyan visited him on four
separate occasions regarding the loan.
So, as we have just seen, there are many keys out there with which
to unlock this offshore web of mystery.
There are also Ashot Sukiasyan’s notes regarding expenditures,
one of which records the cost of five airline and hotel tickets to
Dubai. If investigators can track down even one of the five names
involved, the web will begin to untangle.
But we all know why such cases are never “broken”
in Armenia.
Battling corruption is hard work and it’s practically a losing
proposition in Armenia. Everyone is involved up to their eyeballs,
including those tasked with stamping it out.
(To be continued)
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/28783/the-keys-to-unlock-the-ongoing-offshore-sc
andal-exist-but-will-law-enforcement-use-them.html
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
[28783.jpg] 11:11, August 20, 2013
Edik Baghdasaryan
Kristine Aghalaryan
Part 1, Part 2
AmeriaBank plays a pivotal role in the ongoing offshore scandal that
Hetq first broke and brought to the attention of the public.
Readers will remember that Ameria lent jeweller Sukiasyan U.S. 12
million, for which the property of businessman Paylak Hayrapetyan
was put up for collateral. Ameria also crafted the business plan at
the heart of the credit package.
$9,370,450 of the loan was transferred to the accounts of several
offshore companies held by Hellenic Bank Publik Company.
1. A.B.S. Global Limited - $7,020,450 2. Wlispera Holdings Limited -
$350,000 3. STR Emerald Limited - $2,000,000
Ameria never checked the documents related to Ashot Sukiasyan’s
business plan. According to accepted procedure, a representative of
the bank was required to travel to Sierra Leone to conduct an on-site
check of the information contained within the documents. One of the
banks lawyers should have accompanied Ashot Sukiasyan, the creditor,
to Africa but failed to do so. Nevertheless, the bank continued to
regularly make transfers to Cyprus.
In all, AmeriaBank transferred $10.7 million to Sukiasyan. A warrant
for his arrest was declared on charges of financial fraud. He is
still on the run.
Had the bank done its homework in the first place, it would have
revealed that Sukiasyan used the money to purchase large quantities
of gold, a Bentley automobile, a house, and to invest in construction
and in Metaks Group Ltd., among others.
One of the charges levied against Sukiasyan is the “legalizing
of large sums of illegally obtained income”, i.e., money
laundering. He used AmeriaBank to launder the money.
Some bank employees have been questioned on the matter, but Artak
Hanesyan, Chairman of the Management Board-General Director, has yet
to be. He remains the key to unlock the entire matter, but in all
likelihood Hanesyan will never be interrogated.
RA Prosecutor General must reveal why the case was sent to the Main
Criminal Department of the Police given that numerous officials,
including Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, have a hand in the matter.
Perhaps the key to unlock the offshore scandal is in the hand of
Gasparyan himself. That is if he reveals who gave the OK for Sukiasyan
to be permitted to leave Armenia in the first place.
Readers will remember that on the same day that Paylak Hayrapetyan
had filed a report with the Police Department’s Anti-Organized
Crime Division, Sukiasyan was detained trying to cross the border. He
was questioned and subsequently released.
Sukiasyan’s name was on the Police “black list”
from that day. So who made a discrete call from on high to have his
name removed, thus allowing him to flee Armenia soon afterwards?
Another person who has yet to be questioned is Ararat Diocese Locum
Tenens Archbishop Navasard Kjoyan. On two occasions he travelled to
Cyprus with Ashot Sukiasyan. Amazingly, case investigators seem to
have overlooked the possibility that Kjoyan is an important player
in the offshore scandal.
AmeriaBank officials appear calm and collected, confident that no
Armenian court will file suit against them. But Paylak Hayrapetyan
has declared that he will take the matter to the European Court.
Thus, AmeriaBank may just wind up on a list of banks known for money
laundering. Such a prospect surely doesn’t sit well with the
banks shareholders.
So, who are Ameria’s shareholders? Let’s first state that
the bank is registered offshore, in Cyprus.
AmeriaBank - A Who's Who
Detailed information about the bank is available on its website.
Charting the history of the bank, we read: In August 2007, the main
shareholding of the Bank (96%) was obtained by TDA Holdings Limited
(which was renamed Ameria Group (CY) Limited in November, 2011).
In 2007-2011, gradually increasing the Charter Capital of the Bank,
the major shareholder Ameria Group (CY) Limited increased its equity
participation up to 99.9988997%.
Now, let’s present some information not shown on the bank’s
website.
The bank’s sole shareholder, Ameria Group CY was registered
offshore in Cyprus on July 23, 2007. From the day of its founding
until June 15, 2012, Davit Sargsyan served as its CEO. Sargsyan heads
the legal services division of Ameria Group.
As of June 15, 2012, Andrei Lazarian has served as Ameria Group
CY’s Chief Executive Officer. He is also on the Board of
Directors of AmeriaBank.
Ameria Group CY has only one shareholder - a company called Montrago
Nominees Limited registered in Cyprus. We don’t know who owns
this company. Their names don’t appear on any documents. There
is only one name that shows up, that of Androyalla Papadopoyloy
(ΑΝΔΡΟΥΛΛΑ ΠΑΠΑΔΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ), listed as an authorized representative.
Even though the names of the actual shareholders don’t appear
on the documents, at least two of their names are widely known -
Ruben Vardanian, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AmeriaBank,
and Nubar Afeyan, a member of AmeriaBank’s Board of Directors.
Ashot Sukiasyan also received a $4.5 million loan from Prometey Bank.
If case investigators decide to question Prometey’s Board
President, perhaps he might muster the courage to reveal who telephoned
him for the loan and how Samvel (Navasard) Kjoyan visited him on four
separate occasions regarding the loan.
So, as we have just seen, there are many keys out there with which
to unlock this offshore web of mystery.
There are also Ashot Sukiasyan’s notes regarding expenditures,
one of which records the cost of five airline and hotel tickets to
Dubai. If investigators can track down even one of the five names
involved, the web will begin to untangle.
But we all know why such cases are never “broken”
in Armenia.
Battling corruption is hard work and it’s practically a losing
proposition in Armenia. Everyone is involved up to their eyeballs,
including those tasked with stamping it out.
(To be continued)
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/28783/the-keys-to-unlock-the-ongoing-offshore-sc
andal-exist-but-will-law-enforcement-use-them.html