Video: Aghvan Hovsepyan Makes Statement About Sasun Khachatryan in Court

Aghvan Hovsepyan made revelations about Sasun Khachatryan in court. It should be noted that the trial regarding Aghvan Hovsepyan, the former Attorney General of Armenia and former head of the Investigative Committee, is ongoing today, May 5, at the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction, presided over by Judge Mnatsakany Martirosyan.

"I did not accept him into the Investigative Committee. His father came to me and asked that I accept his son into the position. While I was serving as a prosecutor, Sasun Khachatryan was sending requests to investigators to hold disciplinary accountability. 90 percent of those requests were deemed unfounded and illegal, and were rejected by the disciplinary commission. Why don’t you say that Hovsepyan did not accept you into the case, which is why you have tense relations? It’s as if the person has done both a favor and wrong to me. I stated that he could not conduct the investigation objectively," said Hovsepyan.

As for the accusations against Hovsepyan: According to the charges, based on the evidence gathered during the criminal case, it has been substantiated that Aghvan Hovsepyan, while holding the positions of Attorney General of the Republic of Armenia from 2004 to 2013, and head of the Investigative Committee from 2014 to 2018, participated in the management of organizations founded by his close associate A. S. from 2007 to 2015, in violation of the legal prohibition, which involved granting benefits and privileges to these organizations and sponsoring them in other ways. As a result of this illegal activity, Aghvan Hovsepyan legitimized assets acquired through criminal means worth particularly large sums.

According to the Anti-Corruption Committee, starting from 2008, Aghvan Hovsepyan similarly participated in the management of companies engaged in the import and sale of automobile tires through A. S. Using his connections and influence stemming from his official position, Hovsepyan reached an agreement with the director of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine to ensure that the necessary tires for the company’s trucks were purchased from the individuals and companies he proposed. As a result, from 2008 to 2015, the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine was supplied with tires worth a total of about 7 billion AMD.

It was also revealed during the investigation that during the same period, Aghvan Hovsepyan illegally participated in the management of two more companies founded by A. S. and supervised their financial activities. In particular, to ensure unhindered issuance of water usage permits for the small hydroelectric plants "Vardahovit" and "Vayots" owned by the mentioned companies, Aghvan Hovsepyan used his official position to appeal to high-ranking officials of the authorized body responsible for developing and implementing policies in the sector, resulting in the issuance of water usage permits for the construction and operation of small hydroelectric plants to those companies. Hovsepyan is also attributed with committing other alleged criminal acts.

It should be noted that Aghvan Hovsepyan denies the charges. His defenders insist that Hovsepyan has been held in custody illegally and demand that a criminal case be initiated on this ground.