Narek Nalbandyan's Dubious New Deal: Acquires $6 Million Complex for $360,000

After the change of power, well-known businessman Narek Nalbandyan has acquired the property of businessman Paylak Hayrapetyan at a price well below market value. Having acquired properties through questionable transactions, Narek Nalbandyan has become a major property owner involved in a criminal case.

Investigations reveal that Nalbandyan purchased the "Hayrapet" hotel complex in Sevan and two nearby properties for 18 times less than its estimated value. In 2021, the hotel, valued at $6 million, was bought for only $360,000. This transaction occurred amidst an existing criminal case.

Narek Nalbandyan became publicly known when he acquired the "Golden Palace" hotel in Tsaghkadzor from the state under favorable terms after it was returned from a former official, while his wife purchased a house owned by former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, who is also involved in a criminal case.

Businessman Paylak Hayrapetyan was deprived of his wealth years ago due to transactions involving former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan, among others. The properties of Hayrapetyan were collateralized for loans declared to fund diamond processing businesses, which were ultimately proven fraudulent.

The offshore scandal was uncovered in 2013 by "Hetq". The outcome of the ensuing criminal case resulted in only Ashot Sukiasyan being convicted. After spending nine years in prison, Sukiasyan left Armenia without serving the remainder of his sentence. In the meantime, most of Hayrapetyan's real estate, which had been sold to cover bank debts, was disposed of, leaving only the unfinished hotel complex near Lake Sevan and two other properties unsold.

Located on the left side of the Sevan-Gavar road, the Hayrapet hotel complex was constructed over ten years ago but remains unfinished. It belonged to a company of the same name, with shares owned by Paylak Hayrapetyan and his sons, and was collateralized to obtain loans for the diamond project.

When the scandal broke, the bank was asked not to sell off collateralized properties until the completion of the preliminary investigation. Surprisingly, law enforcement did not prohibit transactions regarding the collateralized properties from being recorded by the Cadastre Committee. Nonetheless, the bank sold all collateralized properties except for the "Hayrapet" hotel complex in Tsovazard and two village properties.

The criminal case against Ashot Sukiasyan, which ended in the deprivation of Hayrapetyan's wealth, was still under investigation by the Investigative Committee up until 2020. In the same year, the NSS announced charges against Kchoyan related to his involvement in offshore transactions. Subsequently, the investigations converged into a single case.

Simultaneously, the bankruptcy case of the "Dzoraguy" cooperative, owned by Ashot Sukiasyan, was presented in court. Hayrapetyan’s hotel was collateralized for loans related to this cooperative. Despite the ongoing investigation regarding fraud and the laundering of criminal proceeds in the NSS case, the bankruptcy court allowed the sale of the "Hayrapet" hotel complex in Tsovazard.

Following the purchase, the hotel complex, which spans 16,000 square meters and includes several buildings, was sold through a public auction for just 191 million drams (approximately $360,000). This transaction occurred on April 1, 2021. The hotel complex had been valued at $6.64 million during the collateralization, making the sale price approximately 18 times lower than its estimated worth.

After acquiring the hotel complex, Nalbandyan's company rented a 15-hectare area of state-owned land on the shoreline of Lake Sevan, a specially protected area. The rental contract was signed for a term of 25 years at an annual fee of 3 million drams.

In addition to the hotel complex, the "Hayrapet" company also owned two other properties in Tsovazard village, one of which consisted of over ten semi-finished houses. These properties were acquired by Nalbandyan at incredibly low prices: one for 13.7 million drams and the other for 4.7 million drams.

Previously, "Hetq" reported that Nalbandyan had become the owner of the Tsaghkadzor hotel "Golden Palace", which was previously owned by the family of former head of the State Revenue Committee Armen Avetisyan, who transferred it to the state as a gift in exchange for closing a criminal case. The state attempted to auction the property but failed, leading to a decision to sell it through a competitive process, ultimately resulting in Nalbandyan's company winning the bid with deferred payments.

In a separate suspicious transaction in 2022, Nalbandyan's wife acquired the residence of former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan in Monument, despite the property being involved in a criminal case at the time. The investigator removed the seizure, facilitating the sale. The initial payment for the house was 48 million drams, with the major payment due by August 2023, which has since been extended to December 2024.

To get a comment, the media outlet sent written questions to Narek Nalbandyan, who claimed he was aware of the property sales through public sources. He mentioned that he found out about the hotel complex's sale from grav.am and the Tsaghkadzor hotel's sale from the Ministry of Territorial Administration's state property management website. Nalbandyan stated that all transactions were conducted legally without any obstacles and based purely on economic logic.

When confronted with the implication that the transaction may suggest connections with law enforcement or representatives of the highest authorities, Nalbandyan responded, "We operate under the principles of fair and competitive business practices, and any suspicions raised might be reasonable if there were objective data to suggest that others were also interested in acquiring these properties but faced obstacles. However, no such evidence exists."