“Do you see possibilities in fighting for the rights of our NGO Famtofam in this case of real corruption”,- ,” reads the letter sent to “Hetq” by “Famtofam” Dutch NGO President Hoite Spijkstra. The organization carries out charitable projects in Shirak Marz and presently supports about 200 poor children with a monthly allowance of 10 Euros apiece. According to Hoite Spijkstra, Avetik Melik-Sargsyan was the NGO’s representative until he was dismissed last year, because “as Dutch board of NGO Famtofam we had many problems with him in the last years.”

In past years the NGO sometimes faced problems regarding the distribution of charitable donations, i.e. second-hand computers or other projects the NGO carried out. “But we were still on speaking terms. That changed when we would implement a new system of international banking for the poor families,-” Hoite Spijkstra writes. He explained that the Dutch sponsors are eligible to pay less income tax when they spend money for charitable goals. “Famtofam” is one of those charitable organisations recognised by the Dutch Ministry of Finance. The Ministry asks organisations like “Famtofam” to maintain a transparent and trustworthy administration. Therefore, “Famtofam” is required to implement an international banking system via the Ardshininvestbank so that families in Armenia could get their monthly money easily. “Mr. Avetik Melik-Sargsyan was very upset about the new system and tried to stop its implementation. At the time, he wrote a letter to our Dutch supporters by e-mail (he had the database of our NGO with e-mail addresses) and declared that he would no longer work with me and our treasurer. Our board decided to stop working with Mr. Avetik Melik-Sargsyan and discharged him as of 1 March 2008,” Hoite Spijkstra writes. The letter written to the Dutch sponsors was signed by Armenian “Famtofam”. According to the letter, the Dutch NGO’s treasurer Sytze P. Boersma had sent an e-mail to Ardshininvestbank, informing the bank that A.M.-Sargsyan is causing a lot of problems and has declared that he would not work any longer with Hoite Spijkstra and the treasurer Sytze P. Boersma. Noted in the letter of the Armenian branch of “Famtofam” is the following: “First of all Armenian Famtofam declared: who gave right to Sytze P. Boersma to write this kind of words and sentences about the president of Armenian Famtofam and send it to the Direction of Ardshininvestbank: it’s a position of an audacious man. A. Melik-Sargsyan is a respectable person not only in Gyumri and your words offensive for his authority! ... You deliberately at the end of year decide artificially to insert your Electronic Banking system. Of course you are sure that if you don’t send children money of December from that will be suffer only the children. But you and Hoite don’t want to change your stubborn position for the sake of poor children’s. ... Armenian Famtofam declared: it’s a position of weak man; it’s a position of antichrist man. Who narrowed the children’s he will be punished from the GOD!” Armenian “Famtofam” believes that there isn’t any need to change its bank account and system but the representatives of Dutch “Famtofam” don’t take this into consideration and deliberately aren’t sending the December funds to the Armenian “Famtofam” bank account so that they can fabricate a scandal surrounding the gifts envisaged for Christmas and New Year’s. The Dutch NGO sent a registered letter to RoA Cadastre, the Regional Administrator of Shirak and Ardshininvestbank, informing them that Mr. Melik-Sargsyan had been dismissed and that he was no longer their representative. “We ordered Mr. Avetik Melik-Sargsyan to hand over the car and office keys and the organization’s seal to Mrs. Lyda Nanyan, the Shirak Regional Administrator, because we didn’t have an official representative at the time,” writes Hoite Spijkstra. Hoite Spijkstra said the car and office were bought by funds they had sent. The Gyumri staff had requested that an office be purchased to organize the work of “Famtofam” since they believed an office was necessary as a reception center for beneficiary families. Staffers also said they needed a car to visit needy families. The Dutch NGO sent 4500 Euros for the office and 4300 Euros for the car. “Famtofam” has also sent additional funds to repair the office building. Hoite Spijkstra noted that after they had collected the money in Holland and sent it they ordered A.M.-Sargsyan to officially register “Famtofam” in Armenia as an NGO. “He didn’t do it the way we asked but rather founded his own NGO and registered that as “Famtofam”. Mr. Avetik Melik-Sargsyan purchased an office at Peace Square (Building #4, Apt. #10). The office was bought on 27 March 2003 for the “Famtofam” program (not a NGO). The official opening of the office was on September 27, 2003 with the participation of a high-ranking delegation of Dutch board members and supporters of NGO Famtofam. He didn’t immediately register the office in the name of our “Famtofam” NGO. (He registered it on January 19, 2005 with the Cadastre). He also did the same with the car,” Hoite Spijkstra wrote to “Hetq”. The board of “Famtofam” decided that Hoite Spijkstra and Angela Melkumian, as board members, should retain the office and the car for their organisation. On August 8, 2008 the “Famtofam” NGO sent detailed information to Director of the Investigation Department of Shirak Marz, Colonel K. T. Tovmasyan, concerning the property of the office and the car and requested that he follow up on the matter. On August 19, 2008 the Dutch NGO sent a registered letter to Aghvan Hovsepian, Prosecutor General of Armenia. The letter contained detailed information about the above-mentioned office and car. “We didn’t get a response to that letter. On 22 January 2009 we again sent an email request to the Prosecutor’s Office for information, but again we get no reaction,” Hoite Spijkstra says. On May 11, 2009, the NGO received a decision reached by the Head of Investigations Department of Shirak Marz, K.T.Tovmasyan, and Inspector of the Investigations Department of Shirak, A.N.Yedigarian, concerning their investigation. According to the finding of K.T.Tovmasian and A.N.Yedigarian, “...the president of Dutch “Famtofam” NGO has informed that on 25 February 2003 and 26 March 2003 they sent 4500 Euro and 4300 Euro to Avetiq Meliq-Sargsyan, the representative of their office (Hoite Spijkstra wrote to us that the word “office” shold be “NGO”, because “we had no office there at that moment: we had sometimes meetings at the office of TV Shirak, of which Avetik was at that moment the director”) in Armenia for acquiring a car and office. But later not being representative of “Famtofam” NGO, Avetiq Meliq-Sargsyan refused transferring the car to Shirak Regional governor Lida Nanyan.” According to the finding of K.T.Tovmasyan and A.N.Yedigaryan, the president of Armenian “Family to Family” NGO Mr. Melik-Sargsyan explained that during the last 10 years the Dutch “Famtofam” Fund was carrying out different projects in Armenia, as well as with Armenian “Family to Family” NGO, but he had never been the representative of Dutch “Famtofam” Fund in Armenia. The Armenian “Family to Family” NGO is registered as a social union with a status of juridical person and functions as an independent organization according to the RoA Constitution. Mr. Melik-Sargsyan has also reports that although the Dutch “Famtofam” Fund has carried out different projects in Armenia, it had never had any property in Armenia.

Wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Melik-Sargsyan not substantiated

“There’s no programme, budget or a financial contract proving the fact of transferring the property to Armenian “Famtofam” NGO.” Besides, the apartment in Gyumri /Khaghaghutyan Square 4, apt. 10/ and the white VAZ 21213 car with 45 os 990 license plates had never belonged to Dutch “Famtofam” Fund. The above-mentioned apartment is the property of Armenian “Family to Family” NGO and was purchased through his personal investment. And the car was bought his own means and belonged to him. At present the car has been sold to another individual and the apartment serves as the office of Armenian “Family to Family” NGO. This is the finding of Inspector A.N.Yedigaryan citing the explanation given by A.M.-Sargsyan. The resolution also says that, according to President A.M.-Sargsyan of Armenian “Family to Family” NGO, in 2003 they indeed got some sum from the Dutch “Famtofam” Fund for implementing a series of various functions, included are also the receipts attached to the letter sent to the Public Prosecutor by the President of Dutch “Famtofam” NGO Hoite Spijkstra dated 2/25/2003 and 2/26/2003 regarding the sums of 4500 Euros and 4300 Euros respectively, but the mentioned sums were spent, upon the agreement of the Dutch party, on his apartment in Gyumri, Sayat-Nova 7, apt. 27, which was their office and on the repairs of their red Niva automobile. The same explanations were given by Kima Asatryan who voluntarily assisted in organizing the financial statement of Armenian “Family to Family” NGO.

Dutch NGO President – “It’s a pack of lies”

Hoite Spijkstra described this finding as “a declaration full of lies told by Mr. Avetik Melik Sargsyan and Mrs. Kima Asatryan”. In the Dutch NGO president’s words, the latter individual wasn’t even a member of their Armenian “Famtofam” organization when they bought the office and opened it. “We have sent our response in which we declare that these claims are outright lies” and received no response from the Prosecutor General and no response by the Gyumri Department of Investigations to our last letter. “A brother of Mr. Avetiq Meliq-Sargsyan holds a high position somewhere in Yerevan in the judicial system. We don’t know where he is working, but maybe he is protecting his brother,-” Hoite Spijkstra wrote in the letter to “Hetq”. On the other hand, the Inspector and the Head of Investigation Department of Marz Shirak Marz offer another point of view. “Thus, in the result of the material’s preparation there wasn’t acquired any fact proving that the money of Dutch “Famtofam” NGO was stolen by Avetig Meliq-Sargsyan. It’s substantiated that the present argument between them is of civil character and can be solved through the court system.” On the basis of the above-mentioned and according to the juridical code of the Republic of Armenia (Article 35, Part 1, Point 1, Articles 181 and 185) it was decided to reject the proceedings of the criminal case, taking into consideration the absence of corpus delicti. On August 8, 2008 Hoite Spijkstra sent a letter to K.T.Tovmasyan. In the letter the president of the NGO emphasized that A.M.-Sargsyan indirectly accepts the fact that the property of the office and the car belongs to the Dutch NGO “Famtofam”, which transferred the money to buy those two objects necessary for the work of “Famtofam” in Armenia given that Mr. Melik-Sargsyan, in an email dated February 3, 2005, expressed his views about the property. In this e-mail Avetik Melik-Sargsyan wrote: “We have already mentioned at the beginning of the letter that the transfer of the office has finished by the name of FamtoFam office. Till the official resign of FamTofam president, I A. Melik-Sargsyan am ready to sell the office and the car and send the money back to Holland.” Later, in a letter dated July 1, 2009, Head of the Shirak Investigation Department, K.T.Tovmasyan, informed Hoite Spijkstra that “on June 6, 2009, according to RA Criminal Code Article 179, Part 3, Point 1, Criminal Case 61203209 has been initiated by the Prosecutor General of Armenia A.G.Hovsepyan and sent to the Shirak Investigation Department for preliminary investigation.”