Funds from the Armenia Pan-Armenian Foundation Used to Slow Down Dram's Decline

During the war, approximately $170 million was donated to the Armenia Pan-Armenian Foundation. Later, it was also revealed that the foundation transferred 52 billion 703 million drams to the government, with the condition to use these funds for financing infrastructure, social, and health expenses due to the state of emergency declaration.

According to 168.am, the executive director of the foundation, Haikak Arshamyan, had urged months ago to wait for the Ministry of Finance's report regarding the funds transferred to the government, assuring that all government expenses were coordinated with the foundation, and the common goal was to help those affected by the war—displaced persons, returnees from Artsakh, and wounded soldiers.

“We will try to do this as quickly as possible so that there is no room for doubt. Thanks to the support given by the foundation to the state, I understand that reallocations have been made in the state budget. Our compatriots have helped maintain the social and healthcare systems, which played such a critical role during the war,” noted Arshamyan.

However, the saga of the 52 billion 703 million dram did not end there. In the video “Requiem / 6. MONEY,” former ambassador to the Vatican, Mikayel Minasyan, mentioned that the prime minister instructed Arshamyan to transfer 52 billion 700 million drams (over $100 million) from the funds collected in the foundation to the budget, which was carried out by 9 decisions.

“None of the 9 decisions were sent to the board members Robert Kocharyan and Arkadi Ghukasyan,” added Minasyan, also stating that the originals of 7 of the 9 decisions had gone missing from the residence of the President of the Republic of Armenia, where both Arshamyan's office and the staff of the foundation are located.

This is not yet the end. According to some reports, part of the aforementioned funds, which was in US dollars, served to stabilize the foreign exchange rate. It should be noted that for months, in order to keep the exchange rate of the dram within controllable limits, the Central Bank has actively been intervening to maintain the exchange rate by selling foreign currency from its reserves.

Thus, according to reports, the “interventions” from the foundation's funds amounted to about $50 million. Additionally, when the Armenia Pan-Armenian Foundation had given 52 billion 700 million drams or $107 million to the government, various diaspora circles expressed their distrust regarding the foundation's activities. However, it turns out that this money was used not only to fill the gaps in the state budget but also $50 million was injected into the currency market from close banks to the government to maintain the exchange rate of the dram. The resulting funds were returned to the state budget and the Central Bank, solving two problems at once.