The Prosecutor's Office Failed to Discover Part of Taron Margaryan's Assets: Hetq

The former Mayor of Yerevan and now a Member of Parliament, Taron Margaryan, is currently under scrutiny regarding his assets, with a court case in progress. The investigation into the origin of Margaryan's wealth has been conducted by the National Security Service. However, no criminal prosecution was initiated due to the absence of a criminal composition.

The Prosecutor's Office has filed a lawsuit to confiscate properties with illegal origins, seeking to recover 11 real estate properties from the former mayor and his family members, including private homes.

“Hetq” has examined the real estate located on just one street in the Avan administrative district, reviewing the acquisition bases and owners. It has been found that law enforcement has only identified a portion of Taron Margaryan's and his connected individuals' assets. Notably, five real estate properties belonging to Taron Margaryan's sisters and other associated persons are missing from the Prosecutor's confiscation claim on Khudyakov Street in Avan. Furthermore, law enforcement also failed to identify more than ten properties registered in the name of Margaryan's nephew.

“Hetq” has investigated the owners of public spaces on Marshals Khudyakov Street in Yerevan and discovered that, within approximately 100 meters, properties belong to Margaryan's sisters, Ani and Haikanush Margaryan, his nephew Ara Jorukhyan, and other trusted associates, such as Serob Karepetian. Some of these properties were transferred to Margaryan's family members by his aide while he was mayor, Armen Buniatyan. None of these properties are included in the Prosecutor's claim.

For instance, the two-story property at Khudyakov Street 169/1 belongs to Ani Andraniki Margaryan, Taron Margaryan's sister. The ownership right of this property, covering a land area of 80 square meters, was registered in Ani Margaryan's name in 2015. According to data from the Cadastre Committee, she acquired the property from Hovik Vardanyan, the first owner of the said property. Vardanyan illegally constructed on municipal land and legalized it in 2014 upon a decision by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan.

Additionally, at the same time, Taron Margaryan sold a neighboring 34-square-meter plot of land for only 155,000 drams based on another decision. A year later, in 2015, Vardanyan merged these two properties and others he owned into a single address at Khudyakov Street 169/1, which he sold to Ani Margaryan under a sales contract.

Ani Margaryan has rented part of this public space to the company “Mobile Center” LLC and another part to Karen Kalashyan.

Furthermore, the public space at Khudyakov Street 220/5 also belongs to Ani Margaryan and spans 66 square meters, with her ownership registered in 2018. This property was gifted to her by Taron Margaryan's associate, Armen Buniatyan. Before this, it had been subject to illegal construction by a private individual and later legalized in 2003.

The public property at Khudyakov Street 212/3 belongs to Serob Karepetian, a former member of Avan Council, who received this 71-square-meter property as a gift from Buniatyan. Similarly, another property at Khudyakov Street 212/4 has belonged to Haikanush Margaryan since 2018, posthumously passed on to her from Buniatyan, who rented the plot from the municipality in 2002.

In conclusion, the Cadastre and archival documents do not clarify how the 80 square meters became 102 square meters in these transactions.

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