At the Moment Information is Being Clarified: Naghdalyan on Reports of the Consul's Detention in Kazakhstan

The honorary consul of Armenia, Hayk Terteryan, has been detained in Kazakhstan. According to reports, the court has imposed house arrest on him, as he is accused of violating Kazakhstan's environmental legislation. This was reported by the Kazakhstani electronic newspaper zakon.kz. The Armenian businessman faces a potential prison sentence of 7 to 10 years.

Residents of the village of Bestamak have been demanding the closure of the Terteryan family’s pig farm for several years due to the terrible odor emanating from it. The villagers have complained that the business owned by Terteryan is polluting the rivers and soil by dumping hundreds of pig heads into nature daily.

Last year, the businessman was at the center of a scandal after the environmental department of Western Kazakhstan's Aktobe region, along with local authorities, conducted inspections of his pig farm following complaints from Bestamak residents. Findings from the inspections confirmed that the pig farming complex had simply buried biological waste near Bestamak. According to Kazakh law enforcement, about 200 tons of waste were removed from the ground. It was also revealed that for two years the business had been discharging waste into the environment without the necessary permits. As a result, the honorary consul has been fined 7 billion tenge, equivalent to about 7.5 million dollars. His case is currently in court.

On the other hand, there are claims that the reports released by local law enforcement regarding Hayk Terteryan's company are exaggerated, and that the Kazakh authorities have shown a notably negative attitude towards Armenian businessmen in recent years, suggesting a policy aimed at seizing their businesses. Evidence of the quality of justice in Kazakhstan can be seen in the case of Gegham Asryan, an Armenian businessman and father of six, who was accused of fraud in the same Aktobe region two years ago. When his lawyer, Arsen Mkrtchyan, traveled to Kazakhstan and presented his attorney’s license to represent Gegham and two other Armenian citizens, the Aktobe investigator detained him, confiscated his documents and passport, and threatened to release him only if he ceased to represent any Armenians.

Moreover, when the lawyer demanded his documents the next day, he was asked for $20,000. “In Kazakhstan, they are literally slaughtering Armenian businessmen, disarming them, carrying out raids; as soon as they see a successful entrepreneur, they start bankrupting them,” said our source, who has been involved in Kazakhstan's business environment. “Terteryan has done great charity work for the village of Bestamak; after all, he is our honorary consul, perhaps today he needs protection,” our interlocutor said.

We attempted to verify with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether they were aware of the honorary consul's detention in Kazakhstan and if they planned to assist him. MFA spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan responded that they would inform as soon as they received further information. This suggests that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not only not defending the honorary consul but is also unaware of the situation regarding him, according to reports.