The list of real estate owned by former Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and his associates has grown over time.

During his tenure as Minister of Territorial Administration, in 2007, Hovik Abrahamyan acquired his 5.7 and 1.5 hectares of Dilijan community land through his driver.

During his tenure as Speaker of the National Assembly, Abrahamyan, through his bodyguard, became the owner of four separate plots amounting to 2913 square meters.

A clearing in the forest

Hovik Abrahamyan registered the real estate acquired while Minister of Territorial Administration  in the name of his driver, Grigor Gevorgyan, a resident of Mkhchyan village. He did the same when registering forested land acquired in Tzakhkadzor.

Grigor Gevorgyan bought 1.5 hectares of land at an auction held in Dilijan in 2007, for which he paid 19.560 million drams. The price for one square was set at AMD 1,304.  Gevorgyan bought 5.7 hectares of land for 74.328 million drams next to the same plot. Both plots were registered in the name of Abrahamyan's driver until 2018. In 2018, the smaller of the two was sold. The buyer has not yet registered the property right with the Cadastre Committee, so his name is not known.

These plots are surrounded by forest on all sides and look like someone cleared them. The plots overlook the Dilijan Community Composers Union’s Resort Home, but the plots are not visible from any Dilijan district due to their location.

The 1.5 and 5.7 hectare plots registered in the name of Hovik Abrahamyan’s driver

Houses in newly created district

Bagratuni Barseghyan was the head of Hovik Abrahamyan's security detachment.

Abrahamyan trusted him so much that Barseghyan was the person authorized for the property transaction of the palatial house in Yerevan’s Haghtanak (Victory) Park.

In 2015, when Hovik Abrahamyan was the NA Speaker, Barseghyan participated in the auctions announced by the Dilijan Municipality. On the same day, January 22, 2015, Barseghyan was declared the winner of the four-plot auction, with the highest bid. He bought the 4 plots (1,2,3,4) on Saralanj Street in Dilijan, totaling 2913 square meters, for AMD 8.010 million.

Unlike the plots purchased in the name of the driver, the plots purchased by the bodyguard are located near the district of Dilijan, where the houses of Dilijan staff of the Ministry of Finance are being built and operated.

In the area adjacent to Barseghyan's Bagratuni land, a new district was planned to be built, and these four plots would have been located next to the fountains to be set up in the center of the district. The unique position of the plots is to be seen in the below photo. 

Bagratuni Barseghyan and the four plots registered in his name

No criminal prosecution

A number of criminal cases filed against the former prime minister have been merged and are being investigated by the Special Investigation Service (SIS) in one proceeding. The SIS announced last month that it had uncovered cases where false documents were used to sell land to Hovik Abrahamyan's relatives in Dilijan. On the basis of the statute of limitations and the amnesty act, it was decided not to prosecute, but the Ministry of Territorial Administration was advised to begin the process of recognizing the auction's decisions as void and returning the property to the community.

In response to a number of Hetq inquiries on the matter, the SIS responded:

“Both Dilijan community leader Armen Santrosyan and other community leaders and committees have decided not to prosecute on the grounds of expiry of the statute of limitations and amnesty law. As for Hovik Abrahamyan, Bagratuni Barseghyan and Grigor Gevorgyan, their actions have not been given legal assessments in the criminal case. The preliminary investigation into the criminal case is continuing to uncover further possible abuses, the full extent of the perpetrators, and to provide legal assessments of their actions. "

Dilijan Mayor Armen Santrosyan

Dilijan Municipality in no rush to prosecute

Dilijan Mayor Armen Santrosyan was questioned in the Special Investigation Service's criminal case but has not confronted former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.

“We have just received a letter from the Ministry of Territorial Administration recognizing the decisions as void and the process of returning the land to the community. Our law department is already exploring how to proceed, as this is the first case. To be honest, we haven't had such an experience and are studying to see how it will be within the law so that the process can continue properly, ”said the Dilijan community leader.

Asked whether Hovik Abrahamyan, directly or through mediators,  has offered to return the lands to the community and bury the story, Santrosyan said no.

Santrosyan claims that during the auctions Hovik Abrahamyan never called him because the auctions were open to all citizens.

“There was no such call, because the case was thoroughly investigated, the cadastral value in that area was 1,242 drams, the starting price was ,2500 drams, that is, more than double. Four people were involved in the auction and the price rose to 3,000 drams. In other words, there was no intervention, no call and anyone came to participate, ” said Dilijan Mayor Armen Santrosyan.

Video and photos by Saro Baghdasaryan