The Chief of the National Assembly's Staff's Company 'Argavand Furniture' Continues to Win State Tenders

The chief of the National Assembly's staff, Vahan Naribekyan, is associated with the company 'Argavand Furniture', which continues to win state procurement tenders. Naribekyan's company supplies furniture to various state agencies, according to Hetq.am.

In August of this year, the news outlet reported that since the regime change in 2018, 'Argavand Furniture' LLC has signed approximately 150 procurement contracts with different state bodies. The total value of these contracts exceeds 250 million drams. Founded in 2014, the company had only three deals with the state before the regime change.

According to data from the state procurement system armeps.am, since August of this year, 'Argavand Furniture' LLC has signed an additional seven contracts with state bodies. The company has provided services to the Prime Minister's staff, the State Control Service under the Prime Minister, the Novobor Municipality, the Vanadzor Medical Center, the National Center for Infectious Diseases, and 'HayAeronavigatsia' LLC. The total value of these seven contracts amounted to 8.3 million drams.

'Argavand Furniture' LLC supplied office furniture and economic goods to the aforementioned state bodies. 'Argavand Furniture' LLC is not the only company associated with Vahan Naribekyan participating in and winning state procurement tenders. In a previous article, we wrote that Naribekyan's brother, Garik Naribekyan, owns 'Damkar' LLC, which has also signed 60 contracts with state structures since 2018, with a total value of 70 million drams. This company also supplies furniture.

Vahan Naribekyan is a friend of National Assembly President Alen Simonyan and a member of the 'Civil Contract' party. He was appointed as the chief of the National Assembly's staff by a decree from Alen Simonyan dated August 3, 2021. On August 12, Vahan Naribekyan transferred the role of director of 'Argavand Furniture' LLC to his brother but continues to own 100% of the company's shares.

In an interview with 'Hetq', Vahan Naribekyan stated that they were previously hindered from participating in the procurement processes, but now the field has been liberalized. At the same time, he claimed that his friendly relations with Alen Simonyan did not provide them with a competitive advantage. According to Vahan Naribekyan, after being appointed as the chief of the parliamentary staff, he ceased to engage in business activities.