Minasyan Has Not Engaged in Prohibited Business Activities While in Public Office

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice of Armenia, Mariam Melkumyan, has refuted claims that Justice Minister Grigor Minasyan engaged in business activities while serving in his ministerial role. She announced this on her Facebook page.

“Today, there have been publications in the media stating that Grigor Minasyan, who was appointed Justice Minister in 2022, simultaneously engaged in business activities. These publications are false and do not reflect reality. The Justice Minister G. Minasyan has not at any point after taking a public office engaged in business activities prohibited under the Armenian law on public service, nor has he violated any incompatibility requirements,” she stated.

Melkumyan emphasized that according to the legislative regulations referenced in the publications, Minister Minasyan transferred management of 60% of his stake in the company “AY EM Law Firm” to a fiduciary management on January 14, 2022, just two days after being appointed Deputy Minister of Justice, signing a fiduciary management contract with an individual. Although the current legislation did not require the state registration of this contract at that time, it was nonetheless submitted to the State Register of Legal Entities of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia.

The reason for the media publications stems from a lack of awareness regarding legislative changes. According to laws adopted by the National Assembly of Armenia on December 7, 2022, fiduciary management can now only be conducted by individual entrepreneurs and commercial organizations, and the fiduciary management contract must be submitted for state registration.

It is essential to note that:
- the new legal regulations came into force in January 2023
- none of the regulations apply to relationships originating before their introduction
- none of the regulations foresee any alteration to the situation existing before they came into effect.

On June 23, 2023, Grigor Minasyan decided to terminate the previously signed contract and enter into a new fiduciary management contract. The signing of the new contract followed the implementation of the aforementioned legislative changes; therefore, it was already signed with a commercial organization and submitted for state registration.

Since the publication's author, lawyer Arsen Babayan, is presumed to lack complete understanding of the new legal regulations, he declared that under those regulations, the newly signed fiduciary management contract, submitted for state registration, is the first of its kind and thus Minasyan had engaged in prohibited business activities prior to that. However, information about the fiduciary management contract signed on January 14, 2022, is also included in Minister Minasyan's 2022 declaration of property, income, and expenditures,” she wrote.

It should be noted that today, lawyer Arsen Babayan announced on his Facebook page that Grigor Minasyan had engaged in entrepreneurial activity for approximately six months during his time as minister.