Newly Emerged Businessman Narek Nalbandyan's Brother Leases Forest Land

New contracts for leasing forest lands in Armenia are being signed. As before, the list of lessees includes not-so-random individuals. This is reported by Hetq.

The media outlet has discovered that this year, forest land has also been leased by Narek Nalbandyan's older brother, a newly emerged businessman whose property acquisitions by former officials raise suspicion. The leased forest land is located along the banks of the Hrazdan River in the administrative territory of the Charentsavan community.

Narek Nalbandyan's name became known to the public after 2018. Initially, the state transferred the “Golden Palace” hotel to him under preferential terms, which was a gift from a former official, and then his wife acquired the house of former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan located in Monument. There are also two other lessees in the same area. They have carried out land works on forest-designated land without permission. One of them has narrowed the riverbed of the Hrazdan River, altering the natural appearance of the river. The responsible authorities are aware of all this, yet no actions have been taken.

The villages of Argel (Lusakert) and Karenis (Gyumush) are separated by the Hrazdan River, which runs through a picturesque gorge. The forest areas along the Hrazdan River, near the northern part of the Gyumush hydroelectric station, have forest significance.

The “Mer Kayl Holding” LLC has leased a 2100 square meter area from these lands. We did not receive this information from the Forestry Committee, as Committee Chairman Vladimir Kirakosyan refused to provide information about lessees on the grounds of personal data protection. According to the Committee Chairman, details such as the leased area’s size, the lessee's name, the rental fee, and the planned activity are personal data, and it is necessary to obtain the lessees' consent to provide this information. Hetq previously obtained leaseholder information from the Forestry Committee without hindrance. We will address why the Forestry Committee Chairman is now avoiding disclosing lessee data at a later time.

The competition for leasing the 2100 square meter plot took place in May 2023. According to the information available on the Forestry Committee's website, the area is located in the “Arzni” forest management territory of the “Hrazdan Forest Enterprise” of the “Hayantar” SNCO. The land has been leased for a yearly payment of 233,000 AMD for a period of 15 years. The purpose of the lease is for organizing “leisure and tourism.”

The “Mer Kayl Holding” LLC, which leased the forest land, was established by Police Colonel Ashot Nalbandyan in 2019, with 100% of the company’s shares owned by him. Ashot Nalbandyan ran in the Argel community leader elections in 2016 but lost by a significant margin to the ruling party's Matevos Avagyan.

Ashot Nalbandyan is the brother of Narek Nalbandyan, who gained notoriety after several business transactions following 2018. Last year, he acquired the house of former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, which is the subject of a criminal case, while prior to that, Nalbandyan’s established company purchased the “Golden Palace” hotel in Tsaghkadzor, which was donated to the state in connection with a criminal case against the former head of the Customs Service, Armen Avetisyan, for money laundering.

A neighboring area of forest land leased by Ashot Nalbandyan has also been leased. A 1000 square meter plot from the “Arzni” forest management territory of the “Hrazdan Forest Enterprise” has been leased in March 2023 to Gorg Gevorgyan, a resident of the Argel village. Gevorgyan also participated in elections in the Argel community but failed to secure enough votes to be included in the community council.

The “Hayantar” has leased this land for 10 years for the purpose of organizing leisure and tourism. The annual rental fee set at auction is 111,000 AMD. Lessee Gorg Gevorgyan has fenced the area and installed several wooden pavilions.

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