Property Worth $600,000 Excluded from Seizure List

The Anti-Corruption Court examines petitions for the seizure of illegally obtained assets every week. Authorities consistently express their determination to "return the stolen assets." Most of the seizure cases involve individuals holding political and economic power who served in government positions prior to 2018.

The investigative publication Hetq has explored one of the cases worth billions of drams and discovered that a property registered under an associate of former Prosperous Armenia party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukyan, valued at approximately $600,000, was omitted from the Prosecutor General's list. Months later, this property, located in the small center of Yerevan, became the property of Armen Abazyan, the son of the Director of the National Security Service.

Since October 2023, the Anti-Corruption Court has been reviewing the Prosecutor General’s petition to seize several properties allegedly acquired illegally from former MP Gagik Tsarukyan and related individuals. The Prosecutor General’s department demands the return of billions in monetary assets, shares, vehicles, and numerous homes and apartments from Tsarukyan and his close associates.

For 1.5 years, the petition has been in the hands of Judge Lilit Drmeyan of the Anti-Corruption Civil Court. In addition to the Tsarukyans, the Prosecutor's Office is also seeking to seize property from Tigran Manukyan, who is involved in Tsarukyan's businesses. Manukyan owns 100% of MegaMotors LLC, a company importing Mitsubishi and MAZ vehicles into Armenia. He has also served as the director of the Shangri-La Casino and has shares in other companies connected to Tsarukyan. The Prosecutor's Office seeks to seize the following from Tigran Manukyan:

• 100% of shares in MegaMotors LLC
• 21 vehicles (including brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Range Rover, and BMW)
• 13 apartments in Yerevan (in Norq-Marash)
• 10 parking spaces in the same building in Norq-Marash
• 2 additional apartments in Yerevan (on Abovyan Street)

All of the apartments are located in buildings constructed by Gagik Tsarukyan in the newly developed neighborhoods of Norq-Marash and in the Abovyan 9 building in central Yerevan. The Prosecutor's Office is demanding the seizure of apartments 36 and 39 in Abovyan 9.

Upon reviewing the list of properties owned or previously owned by Tigran Manukyan, Hetq discovered that he also owned another apartment at Abovyan 9, number 30. The Prosecutor's Office commenced an investigation into the properties registered under Manukyan’s name during the tenure of Deputy Prosecutor General Serbukh Galayan and filed a seizure petition in court.

Surprisingly, the property at Abovyan Street 9, apartment 30, owned by Tigran Manukyan at that time was omitted in the petition submitted in October 2023.

In a suspicious transaction, just days after the petition was filed on October 23, Tigran Manukyan donated the omitted apartment to Yeghish Hambardzumyan, a businessman operating in Russia and originally from Ejmiadzin.

Four months after the seizure case was entered in court, Yeghish Hambardzumyan sold the gifted apartment to Robert Abazyan, the son of the Director of the National Security Service.

50-year-old Yeghish Hambardzumyan hails from the village of Dogs in Armavir Province and was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Dogs by the community council in 2015 for restoring and furnishing the Saint Stepannos Church. Hambardzumyan is also a member of the Armenian community in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. According to Russian tax authority data, in 2018, he founded a construction company named Macстрой.

Yeghish Hambardzumyan and the Director of the National Security Service, Armen Abazyan, are known to be acquaintances.

Robert Abazyan's costly transaction took place in the small center of Yerevan, precisely at the intersection of Abovyan and Tumanyan streets, located next to the Moscow Cinema. Gagik Tsarukyan built this building between 2005 and 2007. Not just anyone resides in this building.

In February 2024, one of the spacious apartments on the 9th floor with number 30 was sold. Hetq has determined that the 225.8 square meter apartment was purchased for 240 million drams by Robert Abazyan, the 31-year-old son of the Director of the National Security Service. At the time of the transaction, based on the exchange rate set by the Central Bank, this amounts to nearly $600,000 (593,721 USD). Robert Abazyan paid 2,627 drams per square meter for the apartment. During this period, the market value for 1 square meter of apartments sold in the small center of Yerevan was higher than what was established in this transaction. Real estate agents estimate that market prices in 2024 ranged between $3,500 to $4,000 per square meter. Given these conditions, the market value of the apartment Robert Abazyan acquired should have been around $790,000 to $900,000.

To better understand the size of the acquired apartment, the average size of a three-room apartment in Yerevan is between 75 to 110 square meters. If we combine two large three-room apartments, it would equal the space Robert Abazyan purchased.

This apartment was financed through a mortgage loan provided by HayEkonombank, associated with parliament member Khachatour Sukiasyan.

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