Arayik Harutyunyan's Brother as Financial Director of Major Advertising Player

The chief of staff to the Prime Minister, Arayik Harutyunyan, has a brother, Arman Harutyunyan, who has served as the financial director of the company "Media House Armenia" since 2020. The state, represented by the Public Television of Armenia, owns 50% of "Media House Armenia", while the other 50% belongs to citizen Vardan Grigoryan, as reported by Civilnet.am.

This company is currently one of the major players in the Armenian television advertising market. "Media House Armenia" serves as a unified center for selling television advertising airtime, conducting sales for various Armenian TV channels since 2020 as a result of market restructuring, according to the company’s Facebook page.

Arman Harutyunyan clarified to Civilnet that he has been working at the company since 2020, coinciding with the government’s decision to allow the Public Television to show advertisements and generate revenue. It is assumed that "Media House Armenia" was established to manage advertising flows towards Public Television, handle them, and organize the sale of advertisements.

When asked why Public Television decided to become a partner in this company where his brother is the director, Arman Harutyunyan stated that his brother’s position had no influence over this decision. "I started working at this company at the time it was established; I joined a few months later. The processes involving ‘Public’ and ‘Shant’ TV stations had already begun before I was hired, but they were only recently registered for certain legal reasons," he mentioned.

He explained that the company deals with the advertising minutes of two television stations, as well as the sales of the “Public Television news page.” According to information provided by the media to the Public Television, over three years, the network received a total of 1.361 billion AMD for commercial ad displays, including VAT. The revenues generated from commercial advertising are as follows: 154.2 million AMD in 2020 (including VAT), 517.8 million AMD in 2021 (including VAT), and 689 million AMD in 2022 (including VAT).

Arman Harutyunyan has also been a member of the Yerevan City Council from the "My Step" faction since 2018. Following the change of power, he began to engage actively in the advertising sector. Since September 2018, he has been the president of the NGO “External Advertising Council.” However, the activities of this organization are currently suspended.

According to a declaration submitted to the Anti-Corruption Committee, Harutyunyan’s salary has been generated from “Media House Armenia” LLC. Over the course of a year, he received more than 9 million AMD in income and also received 748 thousand AMD from the Yerevan municipality, likely as compensation for expenses incurred as a council member.

As of June 2021, Harutyunyan had only 210,000 AMD in cash and a bank deposit of 2.5 million AMD. At the end of 2022, he and his wife purchased an apartment for 39.2 million AMD from the "Defense House" developer, securing a loan of 25.4 million AMD. When queried about how he and his wife paid the remaining amount, which is over 13 million AMD, he explained that he had previously withdrawn savings from the bank and additionally used his wife’s funds.

His wife, Nina Shahbazyan, works at the ‘Hayekonombank’ owned by MP Khachatur Sukiasyan as head of the customer service department. According to the declaration submitted this year, Shahbazyan has a bank deposit of over 22 million AMD, as well as $4,050 in cash and 6 million AMD. She keeps part of her funds in cash.

The involvement of individuals connected to the authorities in the television market, particularly in the television advertising sector, is not a new phenomenon in the Armenian reality. Until 2018, the main player in the television field was Mikael Minasian, former ambassador to the Vatican and son-in-law of Serzh Sargsyan, with his “PanArmenian Media Group.” It actively engaged in advertising flows, ratings, and political opportunism, holding a monopolistic position without competitors; however, it fragmented following the power change in 2018. Now, with the new government, new players are emerging.