General Carlos Petrosyan Privatizes 6900 sq.m Area of 'Victory' Park

As the criminal and legal stories surrounding Yerevan's 'Victory' Park remain unresolved, a new corruption narrative is emerging. The case regarding the return of the area occupied by the 'Golden Palace' hotel to the state has yet to be concluded, and 'Hetq' has uncovered that another plot within the park has been privatized.

According to Armenian legislation, the privatization of forests, parks, and kindergartens is prohibited, as these areas are not subject to sale. However, this has not stopped former Yerevan mayors Yervand Zakaryan and Robert Nazaryan from transferring a 6900 sq.m plot of land located to the east of the 'Mother Armenia' statue in 'Victory' Park to an individual connected to former National Security Service director Carlos Petrosyan.

Years later, the son of former Constitutional Court president Gagik Harutyunyan purchased an adjacent land plot of 2000 sq.m. Last year, both plots were acquired by Armenian businessman Ruben Grigoryan, residing in Russia, who plans to develop the area.

Frequent visitors to the park, who live nearby, noticed a new fence within the park in March 2022, along with a sign prohibiting entry by outsiders: 'Private Property. No Entry Allowed.'

We learned from the Cadastre Committee that there are two properties in the area owned by 'Rid' LLC. One of the plots is 2000 sq.m, while the other is 6900 sq.m. The director of the LLC has approached the Kanaker-Zeytoun administrative district’s office, stating that 'the plots have turned into a construction debris site, which could be a cause for public complaints,' and requested permission to fence the plots.

The administrative district has granted the permission. The development company, 'Rid' LLC, has a statutory capital of 3.7 billion drams and is owned by Russian businessman Ruben Tsolaki Grigoryan.

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