It Is Not the Opposition Hindering Factory Operations, but Businessmen Accusing Each Other of Fraud – Marukyan

It has turned out to be an uncomfortable situation; it appears that it is not the opposition obstructing the operation of the factory, but rather businessmen who are accusing each other of fraud. This was stated by Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the LHK, on his Facebook page, commenting on the mutual accusations of fraud between the two co-owners of the Vanadzor gas cylinder factory.

He specifically wrote: “Listening to this story raises the question of how the government granted a VAT tax exemption to an organization that promised millions of dollars in investment during the post-revolutionary period but had only one registered employee. It is interesting to consider: if the opposition had not questioned the Prime Minister, and if the businessman had not held a press conference in his defense, where would our people have learned that they are accusing each other of fraud and that in three years they have not sold a single composite gas cylinder?”

Marukyan added that it is regrettable that the Prime Minister's office did not carry out any clarification before promoting this investment bubble.

It is worth noting that the Vanadzor gas cylinder factory, which promised up to 120 jobs two years ago, has yet to sell any products. Work resumed on August 27 with just 7 employees. The factory's executive director, Arayik Asryan, states that they may increase the number of employees to 30 by October, although the fate of the Armenian-Iranian joint venture remains uncertain. Asryan describes his partner, Hussein Yahubpur, who holds 75% of the shares in the Iranian company 'Rad Sane Vashamir Group' that founded the factory, as a deceiver, alleging that he has violated all their agreements and has not sent the promised equipment to Armenia.

He points out that today there should be 15 fiber optic machines operating here, instead of just 2. They were supposed to produce not 3,000 polymer composite gas cylinders per month but rather 3-5 times that number.