On the left side of the road leading to Gndevaz, there is a small plot of land owned by Gohar Arsenyan, the wife of former executive director of Jermuk Group CJSC Anastas Arsenyan. Anastas Arsenyan is the brother of former Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) MP Ashot Arsenyan. 

From 2013 to 2018 a number of plots of land in Gndevaz village became the property of people affiliated with former MP Ashot Arsenyan through organized auctions.

225 square meters of this land was alienated to Gohar Arsenyan for 267,000 drams through an auction organized by village mayor Hayrapet Mkrtchyan.

This was not the only farm land alienated to Gohar Arsenyan. She acquired about 14.2 hectares of agricultural land from the community, paying a total of 1,220,000 drams.

Land belonging to Gohar Arsenyan

Animation by Suzanna Petrosyan, Hetq Media Factory

Regarding land alienation, a letter was sent to Gndevaz village mayor Hayrapet Mkrtchyan on behalf of Vayots Dzor governor Harutyun Sargsyan, which states that the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Emergency Situations approved the alienation of 14.2 hectares of agricultural land. The conclusion was based on decision No 16 that asserts the right to alienation, gratuitous use, lease, and construction of state-owned land that falls within the administrative boundaries of communities.

A garden was established on 6 plots (6.4 ha) of the lands alienated to Gohar Arsenyan. Arsenyan acquired that land for 442,145 drams. The gardens are located to the left of the main road leading to Gndevaz, at the opposite slope on the left bank of the Arpa River. At the time of acquisition, 4 plots of land were arable land and 2 were pastures. Now there are 3-4 year old seedlings here. 

7.8 hectares of the farm lands alienated to Gohar Arsenyan is arable land, for which the latter paid 602,700 drams. Three plots of the farm lands are located on the left bank of the Arpa River, one on the right side of the road leading from Gndevaz to Jermuk.

Just off those lands, a newly-built asphalt road leads to Jerm Pharm LLC. 100% of the company’s shares are held by Hayr Yev Vordi Yeremyanner LLC. Before becoming the property of Hayr Yev Vordi Yeremyanner LLC, the company belonged to Jermuk Group CJSC (5.9% of shares) and Vahagn Arsenyan (94.1% of shares).

Vahagn Arsenyan is the son of former RPA MP Ashot Arsenyan. In June-August 2020, Ecopharm LLC was sold to Hayr Yev Vordi Yeremyanner LLC (the company is under the name "Yeremyan Projects").

The company began operating in July 2013. It acquired 5.4 hectares of farm land in Gndevaz from Jermuk Group CJSC and adjacent buildings constructed during Soviet times for 2,057,500 AMD.

The first property acquired for the company’s operation that encompassed about 5,850 square meters had agricultural and industrial significance. Jermuk Group CJSC, represented by Anastas Arsenyan, paid 1,433,000 drams to buy the property. The company was leased by Eco Pharm LLC in 2017-2018. Following that was the alienation of adjacent territories.

The opening ceremony of the company was attended by the third President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan; Sergo Karapetyan, who held the post of Minister of Agriculture in 2014-2016; former RPA MP Ashot Arsenyan and his son Vahagn Arsenyan; Gndevaz village mayor Hayrapet Mkrtchyan; and others. A press release about the company states that this livestock complex founded in September 2013 is intended for cattle breeding and the production of raw milk and cheese.

Photograph taken from Card Foundation’s Facebook page

Through an auction in July 2014, lands were alienated to Jermuk Group CJSC: roughly 2,500 square meters of arable land for 18,500 drams, 3,560 square meters of arable land for 26,500 drams, 7,430 square meters of arable land for 54,400 drams, around 1 a of arable land for 75,000 drams, and 2.2 hectares of arable land for 151,000 drams. In December 2014, Jermuk Group CJSC bought 2,630 square meters of arable land from Hovhannes Harutyunyan and Armine Stepanyan for 300,000 drams.

The auctions in Gndevaz were organized by the head of the community Hayrapet Mkrtchyan and recorded by Aram Harutyunyan. Following the expansion of communities in 2016, the Gndevaz settlement in the Vayots Dzor region became part of the enlarged community of Jermuk.

We sent an inquiry to the National Archives to provide information about the people who participated in the 2014-2015 auctions for the plots (names, surnames, and patronymics of all participants) or a copy of the participant record that should contain the same information.

In response to our inquiry, the National Archives of Armenia stated that, according to the RA Law on Personal Data Protection, they may only transfer personal data to third parties with the consent of the data subject. Since we did not submit a document confirming the consent of third parties, they cannot provide information to a media outlet about people who participated in auctions.

The answer to the query states that, according to Article 3, Chapter 1, Clause 5 of the RA Law on Archival Cases, the information requested is considered a personal secret for a period of 100 years from the time of its availability. Up until that period, information may be provided only to the data subject or their representative.

• Who privatized and sold the Gndevaz lands?

Aside from the Arsenyan family, Gndevaz farm lands were also alienated to Gndevaz village mayor Hayrapet Mkrtchyan’s close circle, which included his brothers’ families, members of the Council of Elders, the sons of the village municipality head, the former governor of Vayots Dzor Aragats Saghatelyan, and others, who in turn resold the lands to Lydian Armenia CJSC.