Yervand Zakaryan Sold the Youth Palace for 12 Times Less Than Its Cadastre Value

The former mayor of Yerevan, Yervand Zakaryan, is facing a criminal case for illegally alienating the Youth Palace. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia.

It has been indicated that, driven by personal interests and violating several legislative requirements, Zakaryan transferred the Youth Palace, which covers approximately 24,000 square meters at 1 Saralanj Street, for more than 12 times less than its cadastre value.

In particular, the Youth Palace, which is state property and valued at over 805 million drams, was sold to Avangard Motors for around 63 million drams. The Prosecutor's Office reported that this resulted in significant property damage to Yerevan.

Furthermore, this price discrepancy arose after Yervand Zakaryan hastily sold the Youth Palace three days before the government's decision dated January 19, 2004, came into force. According to the decision from January 19, 2004, the value of the Youth Palace was to be around 806 million drams. Consequently, Zakaryan alienated state property without the appropriate legal grounds to Avangard Motors.

A public criminal prosecution has been initiated against Yervand Zakaryan under Part 2 of Article 308 of the former Criminal Code (abuse of official authority resulting in severe consequences).