Ambassador Lilit Makunts' Brother Starts Sand Extraction Business

Vahe Makunts has become a participant in four companies between January and April 2023. The companies are engaged in the extraction and sale of sand in the Armavir region. One of them, "Iks Mining" LLC, received permission for sand extraction about 2 months ago, but has been periodically engaged in illegal sand extraction since January. This is evidenced by the administrative proceedings initiated by the Mayor of Metsamor. However, the latest administrative proceedings were terminated after Vahe Makunts became a participant in the company.

The companies were established after the regime change in 2018. Vahe Makunts is not the founder of these companies but has invested in them, effectively sidelining certain individuals linked to the previous government. Makunts' business partners are also notable figures; one is the relative of Gagik Jhangiryan, while another is a former Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development.

Vahe Makunts is the brother of Lilit Makunts, who has held various state positions since the regime change in 2018. From 2018 to 2019, Lilit Makunts served as the Minister of Culture, and was elected to the National Assembly by the "My Step" alliance during the 2021 snap parliamentary elections, taking the position of the ruling faction leader. In August 2021, she was appointed Armenia's Ambassador to the United States for a four-year term. During this period, Vahe Makunts has also held different state positions. Specifically, he was appointed as the assistant to Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan in August 2021. After Papikyan was relieved of his position in November of the same year and became the Minister of Defense, Vahe Makunts briefly worked as an assistant to the chief adviser to the Prime Minister, Hambardzum Matevosyan, until his dismissal on December 10, 2021. Following this, Vahe Makunts moved to the Ministry of Defense, where he served as an assistant to Minister Papikyan until he was let go in December 2022.

After his exit, in January 2023, he became a participant in two companies and subsequently expanded his business. According to Vahe Makunts' biographical data, he lacks extensive work experience. From 2011 to 2012, he worked at "VTB Armenia Bank" LLC as a credit specialist, and from 2012 to 2015, he was a lecturer at the "Mkhitar Gosh" University. In 2021, Vahe Makunts joined the government apparatus.

We reached out to Vahe Makunts to inquire about his activities from 2015 to 2021, which are not mentioned in his biography. In response, he stated in writing that he had relocated abroad for residential purposes since 2015 and engaged in business activities in the construction sector, focusing on the extraction, transportation, and sale of construction materials. He returned to Armenia in 2020 and founded a greenhouse farm in the village of Mrgashen, Kotayk region, for which he incurred expenditures of about 150 million AMD in 2021.

In 2021-2022, Vahe Makunts submitted a declaration of property, income, and expenses to the Anti-Corruption Commission, indicating that he had declared some capital as a former state official. Specifically, according to the 2022 declaration, he purchased land and a production facility in Mrgashen village in 2020. He did not specify the purchase price in the written clarification provided to us, only stating that it was acquired from a private individual using his own funds.

According to the declaration, in 2022, Makunts sold his 2007 "HOWO", 2008 "RANGE ROVER", and 2011 "INFINITI" cars for a total of 83 thousand USD. He purchased a "MERCEDES-BENZ" car worth 64 thousand USD in exchange. The cars were sold to Ararat Hovhannisyan from Ijevan, to whom Vahe Makunts also lent 50 thousand USD. According to Makunts, the mentioned cars were acquired for business purposes, and Ararat Hovhannisyan is one of his partners, for whom the loan was given for personal purposes.

According to the declaration, Vahe Makunts received an income of 38,464,000 AMD in 2022, of which 34,282,000 AMD is "other income", and the remaining 4,236,000 AMD is his salary from the Ministry of Defense. Makunts states that the "other income" comes from the greenhouse farm he established in Mrgashen, where he grows and sells flowers.

We asked Vahe Makunts why he decided to engage in business activities, particularly in the extraction and sale of sand and gravel. He pointed out that the selection of the field is related to the profession he has pursued for many years. When asked why he opted to acquire shares in already established companies rather than create new ones, Vahe Makunts responded that he considered this approach more advisable.

Considering the fact that Vahe Makunts' sister is a member of the ruling political team and that he has held state positions since the regime change in 2018, we inquired whether these connections were utilized to conduct business activities under preferential conditions, especially in the extractive sector. "No, I did not use it. On the contrary, the circumstances you mentioned have been a constraint for me, rather than a privilege," Vahe Makunts replied, adding that he acquired shares in four companies through borrowed and credit resources, as well as with his own funds. It should be noted that according to the declaration submitted as of December 31, 2022, Vahe Makunts' loan balance amounted to 66 million 614 thousand AMD.