Government Pays 5.6 Billion Dram Instead of Announced 4.2 Billion Dram for Tsarukyan's Casino

The Armenian government has paid not the announced 4.2 billion dram but rather 5.6 billion dram from the state budget for the casino "Shangri La," owned by the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan. This information was provided to Hetq by the Ministry of Finance and related documents.

According to the government's decision number 1052-N dated July 7, 2022, a total of 5,570,812,500 dram (five billion five hundred seventy million eight hundred twelve thousand five hundred) was paid as a state duty for the third quarter of 2020, the fourth quarter of 2020, and the third quarter of 2022, including the penalties calculated for the delays in payment.

In response to queries from the media, the Ministry confirmed that despite the casino's closure due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the State Revenue Committee insisted that "Onira Club" continue to pay the state duty, as the casino's license remained valid. The operator, "Onira Club," refused to make the payments and entered into legal disputes with the SRC and the Ministry of Finance.

The government decided to settle the debts of "Onira Club" at taxpayers' expense. Initially, the government announced in the July 7 discussions that 4.2 billion dram would be allocated from the state budget to cover the casino's state duty. However, it appears that government calculations changed, raising the amount to 5.6 billion dram, which now includes the penalties for late payment.

During the July 7 meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that an agreement had been reached with "Onira Club" for the casino to re-open on October 1, 2022, and begin paying the state duty for the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the company had applied to the Ministry of Finance to suspend the license of the casino until October 1, 2022.

This means that on one hand, the state covers the duty for the third quarter, while on the other, the company is submitting a request to suspend the license for the same quarter. By law, the quarterly duty is paid a few days before the start of that quarter, which created the company's liability for the duty that was eventually paid by the state.

The government decision states that based on the order of the Minister of Finance on July 12, 2022, the casino license was suspended until October 1, 2022, upon the company's request. It is worth noting that due to the location of "Shangri La," the annual state duty for the casino license amounts to 5.5 billion dram according to the law.