Scandal at the Opera Theatre: Millions Wasted

Years ago, the "Fund for Supporting the Alexander Spendiaryan National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet" was established in conjunction with the Opera Theatre, receiving substantial amounts of money under the theatre's name. However, the management of the Opera Theatre assures that they are unaware of these funds and do not know what they were actually used for.

The fund, created in 2014 and taking the full name of the theatre with the addition of the word 'fund', is registered at the same address. Furthermore, since its inception, it has carried the same logo that the Opera Theatre abandoned three years ago. "Haykakan Zhamanak" learned that despite sharing the same logo, it was never registered under the theatre's name, and the fund's management has taken and registered it under their name since the opening day. At that time, Andranik Arzumanyan was the theatre director, who registered a new version of the logo under the theatre's name only two years later, in 2016. This information comes from Haykakan Zhamanak.

The media outlet notes that the theatre's employees insist that the fund's activities, which seemingly pursue innocent purposes, have used the money extorted from various organizations and individuals under the Opera's name purely for private gain and distributed among a select few.

In the fund's 2017 report, a significant amount is mentioned as having been spent on the renovation of the theatre, but the theatre staff not only denies this but also indicates that even the renovation of the fund's office was conducted using the theatre's funds.

Acting Director of the Opera Theatre Karine Kirakosyan told "Haykakan Zhamanak" that there are no documents in the theatre to attest to the fund's cash donations or specific transfers. According to Kirakosyan, since 2017, when she held the position of deputy director, the theatre has had no connection with the fund.

The last renovation at the theatre was carried out in 2017, and only in the second-floor foyer. The renovation amounting to 5 million 400 thousand drams was provided to the theatre by "Ardshinbank".

For more details, visit the original source.