Finance Minister Not Considered a Defendant in Ongoing Case

Three months after the initiation of a criminal investigation involving Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan, no criminal prosecution is currently underway against him or any other individual. The current procedural status of Hovhannisyan remains unclear, according to the Anti-Corruption Committee during an interview with Factinfo. They reported that the preliminary investigation is ongoing and that there is no individual with a defendant status.

A group of lawyers submitted a report to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia on December 4, 2024, proposing to initiate a criminal case regarding potential corrupt acts by Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan. On December 25, 2024, Anti-Corruption Committee investigator B. Chilingaryan refused to initiate criminal proceedings. The appeals filed to the Office of the Prosecutor General and subsequently to the Anti-Corruption Court were rejected, which has also been contested.

As a result, on April 3, 2025, the Appellate Anti-Corruption Court, presided by Judge Karen Amiryan, overturned the decision of the Anti-Corruption Court and made a ruling requiring the initiation of a criminal case against Hovhannisyan.

The Appellate Anti-Corruption Court found that the report regarding 'G Code' LLC was appropriately filed, stating additionally that “as of the date of his appointment as Deputy Minister of Finance (transitioning to public service) on August 18, 2021, Vahe Hovhannisyan received a $1,000,000 interest-free loan and a $50,000 donation, purchasing 100% of the shares of 'Caritas Italiana' LLC (as per the assumption stating Alla Avoyan was the director of 'Caritas', it is presumed that he purchased exactly 100% of those shares). According to the 2021 declaration, the share of 'Caritas Italiana' LLC belongs to Vahe Hovhannisyan.

On January 10, 2022, 'Caritas Italiana' LLC was reorganized and subsequently became 'G Code' LLC. Moreover, in Hovhannisyan's declaration for the same year, it is indicated that the shares at the end of the year remained at a value of $1,050,000. In the 2023 declaration, those shares appear to be missing.

After the reorganization of the company, Rubik Armanaki Karapetyan, who is presumably (according to unverified data) Hovhannisyan's maternal uncle, became the 100% owner of the company.

Furthermore, the Appellate Anti-Corruption Court noted Hovhannisyan's provision of a loan amounting to 52,614,000 AMD to 'G Code' LLC, and tax exemptions worth 1.5 billion AMD on the import of goods applied to 'G Code' LLC by the Armenian government’s decision No. 1942-A dated November 9, 2023, among other factors.

The Appellate Court concluded that the report concerning 'G Code' LLC included substantive information about a potential crime, emphasizing that the procedural act whereby B. Chilingaryan refused to initiate proceedings did not adequately analyze and legally evaluate the content of the report presented by Ara Zohrapyan.

The Prosecutor's Office filed a cassational appeal against the decision of the appellate court, which has not been accepted for consideration, thereby rendering the decision of the Appellate Court valid. Consequently, criminal proceedings were initiated against Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan starting May 15, 2025, based on the features of unlawful participation in entrepreneurial activities as per Article 442, Part 1 of the Armenian Criminal Code.