Grants and Compensation from Soros Foundation: Haik Alumyans Unreported Wealth

The member of the legal team for former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Haik Alumyan, has not submitted his asset, income, or property declarations for nine years. Alumyan's wife, Armenuhi Badiryan, is a judge in the court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan, and according to the law on public service, her husband, as a connected person, is required to submit a declaration, reports Civilnet.am.

The media outlet notes that no declaration has been submitted by Alumyan on the website of the Corruption Prevention Commission. Civilnet has sent an inquiry to the commission to clarify why Alumyan has not submitted a declaration and why no proceedings have been initiated in this matter. In response, the commission confirmed that Alumyan has not submitted a declaration and stated that they had sent a letter to him for clarification regarding the grounds for not submitting a declaration.

Alumyan has cited Article 25 of the Law on Advocacy, which concerns attorney-client privilege, and informed the commission that information considered confidential may not be disclosed. The commission has clarified in a written response that he is obligated to submit a declaration and that there is no requirement to disclose information considered confidential under attorney-client privilege.

“At the same time, we inform you that after receiving the commission's clarification, if Haik Alumyan still fails to submit declarations, the commission will initiate administrative proceedings against him,” the Corruption Prevention Commission informed Civilnet.

The commission's chair, Haikuhy Harutyunyan, stated that a notification has already been sent to the lawyer, giving him another deadline to submit the declaration, and they have yet to receive a response. If the declaration is not submitted, the commission will initiate administrative proceedings, which may later lead to criminal charges by law enforcement.

According to Article 314.2 of the criminal code, intentionally not submitting a declaration leads to administrative liability, and if the declarant does not submit it within 30 days, they may face criminal liability in the form of a fine or imprisonment for up to 2 years.

However, Alumyan is only required to submit the declaration for 2019, not for the nine previous years. The chair of the Corruption Prevention Commission, Haikuhy Harutyunyan, explained this according to appropriate legislative regulations. “Our primary goal is prevention, and under prevention, it is necessary to provide the individual the opportunity to remedy their deficiencies,” she stated, adding that efforts are being made to ensure Alumyan's compliant conduct.

Harutyunyan did not wish to answer questions regarding why Alumyan has been “privileged,” why the absence of his declaration has not raised questions within the commission, and so forth. According to her, the address for these questions is the previous composition of the commission.

Haik Alumyan has commented on the matter of not submitting his declaration.

Lawyer Haik Alumyan told Civilnet that the commission has approached him concerning submission of his declaration, to which he has responded, and they are currently in correspondence. “I hope to prove to them that the law, as it exists, cannot be applied to me as a family member,” Alumyan stated. Evidently, he is referring to Article 2 of the Public Service Law, which lists the officials to whom the law applies.

The obligation to submit a declaration is outlined under another chapter of the same law, where the list of senior officials and their connected persons is described. Alumyan also indicated that issues related to attorney-client confidentiality are among the grounds for not submitting the declaration.

Alumyan and “Soros Foundation”

Haik Alumyan has collaborated for many years with the Open Society Foundations, established by George Soros. Currently, his client, Robert Kocharyan, is harshly criticizing the foundation's activities in Armenia, warning that “the country is heading towards Sorosization.” In March 2019, Alumyan confirmed that he received grants from the Open Society Foundations for payments related to the cases of Mataghis and Ashot Harutyunyan.

In addition to the grants, Alumyan has collaborated with the foundation on criminal justice programs from 2008 to 2019. This information was provided to Civilnet by the Open Society Foundations.

“Mr. Alumyan has participated in the implementation of the Foundation's Strategic Litigation Program, and within that program, he has conducted both the handling of cases and performed consulting work. Mr. Alumyan has also been a member of the Foundation's Justice Group, contributing significantly to its work from 2014 to 2019. The Justice Group is a group of experts that develops and presents professional opinions on various processes taking place in Armenia's legal and legislative environment to the state, international, and expert communities, as well as the general public. The Justice Group provides opinions on various issues related to improving the practice of law in Armenia, including legislative and practical manifestations. Mr. Alumyan has collaborated with the Foundation on initiatives to combat torture, degrading and inhuman treatment and has developed a specific course on these issues with the support of the Foundation and taught it at the Armenian Bar Association,” the Open Society Foundations replied to Civilnet, expressing gratitude for Alumyan's professional contribution.