"I Don't Know How to Comment on a Story Unrelated to a Crime": Lawyer of the Smbatyan Brothers

After the announcement from the Prosecutor's Office regarding the involvement of Honored Artist of the Armenian SSR Armen Smbatyan and Honored Artist of Armenia Sergey Smbatyan in a "terrifying fraud" from 10 years ago, I have been receiving numerous calls from journalists, friends, and concerned citizens asking me to comment on what is happening. This was stated by Evrand Varosyan, the attorney for Armen and Sergey Smbatyan, on his Facebook page.

He specifically noted, "Dear compatriots, I am a lawyer, I am an attorney, I cannot comment on the legal mess presented to you. I do not know how to comment on the poetic creation about a 'fraud' that has crossed all boundaries of imagination, where even the supposedly calculated damage of 166 million drams is presented in the form of 966 million drams through some equilibrist tricks, apparently to make the creation look more terrifying. I do not know how to comment on a story that has nothing to do with a crime, which my clients have not been involved with at all. I do not know how to comment on the persecution of talented artistic individuals who have served Armenia throughout their lives, kept Armenia's name and reputation high, and the blow directed at the career of one of the most radiant stars representing Armenia on the world stage, who has a significant presence and future. I cannot even imagine what could be the reason and meaning of all this."

"Nevertheless, I hope that any absurdity, just as it begins, will also come to an end. With all the possible means available in the legal arsenal, this issue will be raised in all possible instances, and sooner or later, justice will be restored. God be with us all, and may each of us receive what we deserve for our actions."

It should be reminded that earlier, the RA Prosecutor General's Office announced that it has been established through criminal proceedings that Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador A.S., his son, conductor S.S., and businessman A.P. submitted a fake investment project to the Government of the Republic of Armenia in 2012 for the construction of the multifunctional complex "World of Books" worth 800 million drams and fraudulently seized a plot of land, allocated to the "Yerevan P. Tchaikovsky Secondary Music School" SNCO for gratuitous use, measuring 300 square meters at 36 Koghbatsi Street in Yerevan, valued at 166 million 103 thousand drams.