Relative of Judge Takes Control of Client's Company and Property

Samvel Hakobyan co-founded the company "Lider" LLC in 1991 with colleague Valeriya Tikhamirova and Olga Hakobyan, engaging in design, construction, machine building, and later in processing diamonds and colored stones. The company has designed, constructed, and launched four diamond processing factories. Prior to 2010, the company employed 115-120 engineers and craftsmen, a number that fluctuated based on orders. According to the financial report from 2009, the company had a turnover of 50 million drams, as reported by Hetq.am.

In the summer of 2010, Samvel Hakobyan was approached by former MP Taron Sahakyan with a business proposal, promising to invest 1 million USD and work together in the diamond processing industry. Hakobyan and Sahakyan traveled to Russia, met with representatives of a bank offering loans for investment, and reached a preliminary agreement that the loan would be granted, and the products would be sold in Russia. Upon returning from Russia, representatives from Sahakyan's office invited Hakobyan to create a company called "Paros New Art" with a charter capital of 45,000 drams. The shareholders included Andrey Hakobyan (33%, Samvel's son), Garik Saghatelyan (33%, Sahakyan's son-in-law), and Manvel Saghatelyan (33%, Garik’s uncle).

Before this arrangement, Samvel Hakobyan had pledged his 36% shares in "Lider" LLC, sold to Manvel Saghatelyan. Days later, Sahakyan’s representatives called Hakobyan, indicating that the lending bank had inquired whether the newly established company owned a factory. They proposed that he sign a contract to sell "Lider" LLC's diamond and colored stone processing factory to "Paros New Art" for 23 million 382 thousand drams, ostensibly for the bank’s verification, while the actual processing would occur at "Lider" LLC. Initially unwilling to sign the preliminary sale agreement, claiming he had a buyer ready to pay $400,000, Hakobyan eventually signed it after Sahakyan assured him that the contract was solely for the bank's paperwork. Soon after, though, Taron Sahakyan severed ties with Hakobyan, who realized he had been defrauded.

On January 3, 2011, a representative of Sahakyan arrived to claim the factory, during which Samvel Hakobyan was assaulted in his office. A month later, "Paros New Art" LLC filed a lawsuit demanding the director of "Lider" LLC to sign the main contract. While the initial claim was denied, appeals court rulings favored the LLC. By 2013, a resolution from the Supreme Court compelled "Paros New Art" LLC to pursue coercive execution of the factory’s sale agreement.

A new issue arose when the enforcement agent compelled Hakobyan to sign the principal contract. At that time, a long-time friend, Onik Harutyunyan, called and offered help. "Onik said, 'My attorney is our guy, he helps me with a case against my brother.' Through his referral, I met Gevorg Harutyunyan, director of ‘Lawyers’ LLC, and later, his friend attorney Samvel," recounted Hakobyan, stating that he explained his legal troubles to Gevorg. After discussing the legal services in Harutyunyan's office, the attorney requested that Hakobyan’s wife’s 32% shares in "Lider" LLC be transferred to Harutyunyan's sister, Sona Harutyunyan, with a verbal agreement to return the shares after the case concludes.

They proceeded with this arrangement. In 2013, the shareholders of "Lider" LLC included Sona Harutyunyan (32%), Valeriya Tikhamirova (32%), and Manvel Saghatelyan (36%). At the time of donating shares to Sona Harutyunyan, the attorney required Hakobyan to sign a loan agreement for $25,000, alleging this was financial support provided to them. According to Hakobyan, Gevorg explained that this was a standard procedure and a security guarantee. His wife signed the document as there was no other option presented: "You either sign this or go sign the main sale contract with “Paros New Art” LLC," Hakobyan quoted Gevorg. Subsequently, the loan agreement was purportedly replaced by a counterfeit document titled "Donation Promise Agreement" with the amount inflated to $45,000 instead of the initial $25,000.

In 2014, Gevorg fulfilled his promise, releasing Hakobyan from the necessity of signing the sale contract, thereby increasing his trust with the Hakobyans. The next step was to legally remove shareholder Manvel Saghatelyan from the list of shareholders under the condition that Valeriya Tikhamirova would transfer her 32% shares to Sona Harutyunyan. Sona, holding 64%, would retrieve the remaining 36% and return all shares to the original owners. For these legal services, Gevorg was to be paid $5,000 instead of 500,000 drams, formalized in a service contract.

Trusting the attorney, Hakobyan agreed to this arrangement and spoke with Valeriya Tikhamirova. Gevorg, along with his employee Ani Mkrtchyan, traveled to Russia, obtained power of attorney from Tikhamirova, and secured the shares in favor of Sona Harutyunyan. Additionally, Tikhamirova signed a loan agreement. After a series of these transactions, Samvel paid $5,000 and requested the shares of "Lider" LLC. Gevorg retorted, claiming, 'I deceived you; what shares? When we first met, you were all excited, and I already knew what documents I needed you to sign.' Furthermore, he demanded an additional $30,000. He claimed he had bribed the judges involved: $12,000 to the first instance judge Ruben Buniatyan, $13,000 to appellate judge Astghik Kharatyan, and $17,000 to the Supreme Court.

He further threatened that $46,000 would be required to retrieve the factory, which had transitioned to Gevorg’s wife, Hermina Martirosyan, through a fictitious loan agreement approved by Judge Tigran Poladyan. The current shareholders of "Lider" LLC include Sona Harutyunyan (32%), Ashkhen Hovhannisyan (32%), and Manvel Saghatelyan (36%). The factory, previously owned by "Lider" LLC, is now property of Hermina Martirosyan.

In 2017, realizing he had been defrauded, Samvel Hakobyan appealed to the Prosecutor General and then-President Serge Sargsyan. A criminal case was initiated on suspicion of fraud by the organized crime division. Later, the case was transferred to the Investigative Committee of Armenia, where investigator Shams Ghazaryan recognized Hakobyan as the victim and Gevorg as a witness. Shortly after, the same investigator dropped the case. Hakobyan has since spent two years fighting in court to revoke the decision to terminate the criminal case, which is currently being reviewed by the judiciary. However, after dismissing the case, investigator Ghazaryan returned to Gevorg all the seized and associated documents connected to the case, including a fraudulent loan agreement obtained from Valeriya Tikhamirova.

Without delay, Gevorg presented this document to the court in Russia’s Krasnodar region, where Tikhamirova resides, demanding $30,000 from her while threatening to evict her from her home. This occurred despite the fact that the shares had been deceitfully registered under the name of Gevorg’s sister, Sona Harutyunyan.

Since 2017, Sona Harutyunyan has been seeking to declare "Lider" LLC bankrupt through the court system. The bankruptcy case is currently under judicial consideration. Attempts to reach attorney Gevorg Harutyunyan for comments were unsuccessful as his phone was unavailable, and he did not respond to inquiries submitted via email.