In Post-Revolution, Serj Sargsyan's Sons-in-Law and General Mihran's Nephew Were Business Partners

Arthur Shatvoryan, the Deputy Head of the Food Safety Inspectorate, in May 2019 co-founded a company with Tigran Harutyunyan, a former head of the National Security Service, General-Major Mihran Poghosyan's nephew, and brother of former MP Vahan Harutyunyan. Hetq.am reports that Tigran Harutyunyan is better known to the public as the owner of 'Parking City Service,' which operated in Yerevan and later transferred to the Yerevan municipality. T. Harutyunyan is also the founder of the construction company 'Mikshin,' which executed the development of the Yerevan Erraz district, among other projects.

Shatvoryan is the brother-in-law of Naira Sargsyan, an assistant to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and of Haik Sargsyan, an MP from the 'My Step' faction. According to his official biography, Shatvoryan held no position in the state system until 2019. From 2019-2020, he served as an advisor to the head of the Food Safety Inspectorate, and was appointed Deputy Head by Pashinyan in February 2020. By profession, he is a pharmacist and has previously worked in pharmaceutical companies.

It is perhaps not coincidental that one year after the Velvet Revolution, the company founded by Arthur Shatvoryan and Tigran Harutyunyan was named 'Velvet Building.' The partners held equal shares in it, at a 50-50 ratio. The address of the Yerevan company, Adonci 8, is also noteworthy as it is located in one of the new buildings in the Erraz district.

Shatvoryan established another company named 'Velvet Holding' in July 2018, just weeks after the Velvet Revolution, and he is still the sole owner of it. Aside from these two companies, A. Shatvoryan had a 50% stake in 'Boni Free' LLC from 2014 to 2018, which, according to the State Revenue Committee, was engaged in public catering but is currently temporarily inactive. This company is registered at the same Yerevan address as 'Velvet Holding,' and both companies perform similar functions, both of which are also temporarily inactive.

Almost a year after being appointed Deputy Head of the Food Safety Inspectorate in February 2020, Shatvoryan in January 2021 submitted a declaration upon assuming office. There, he indicated 100% ownership in a company - 'Velvet Holding,' with a stake valued at 30,000 drams, although the legal capital of this LLC is only 5,000 drams according to the state register. According to the declaration, on the day of assuming office, Shatvoryan entrusted his share in this company to a trust management for five years.

We asked the official why he did not declare the company 'Velvet Building' founded with Tigran Harutyunyan in May 2019. In response, A. Shatvoryan stated that he is no longer the owner of this company since December 2019, as he sold his 50% share. We cannot confirm this information as shareholders of legal entities are typically not disclosed in the state registry. Data about them are kept in Armenia's central depository. Nevertheless, there are certain ways to clarify shareholder information in the same state registry, and accordingly, there has been no change in the ownership of this LLC (it is possible that the data simply have not been updated).

On the other hand, the statute of 'Velvet Building' LLC, approved in May 2019 by the founders Tigran Harutyunyan and Arthur Shatvoryan, is available in the state register (see below). According to the state register, the statute has not been amended, though this does not imply that the shareholders must have remained the same.

We inquired from the Deputy Head of the Food Safety Inspectorate what 'Velvet Building' is engaged in, whether its operations involve construction (considering the company name) and asked what relationship he maintains with businessman Tigran Harutyunyan aside from being partners. A. Shatvoryan replied: 'From the time of establishment until the sale of my owned share, 'Velvet Building' LLC has not engaged in any financial-economic activity. And currently, I have no information about this company's operations. For the specified reasons, I do not have any partnership relationships with Tigran Harutyunyan.'

In the first photo: Arthur Shatvoryan, Haik Sargsyan, Tigran Harutyunyan (from left to right)