On 28 April, Armenia's  National Security Service (NSS) arrested Sedrak Arustamyan, the CEO of Multi Group holding, owned by Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukyan, on charges of giving $22.4 million bribe to the former Armenian finance minister Gagik Khachatryan, reported arka.am. 

According to NSS, the scheme also involved the former minister's sons. In exchange, Arustamyan was promised that tax and other government officials will not impede the economic activity of a number of companies included in the Multi Group holding company and will safeguard them from inspections by state supervisory authorities. The bribe was transferred to the account of a company registered abroad. To conceal the criminal nature of the transaction, two loan agreements were formally concluded, the NSS said. The NSS said also the investigation is ongoing and measures are being taken to establish the entire circle of persons involved in the illegal scheme, to track down the movement of legalized income through bank transfers, and to seize the property acquired by criminal means.

Arustamyan was already indicted earlier in two separate criminal inquiries conducted by the Investigative Committee. The law-enforcement agency claimed last September that Arustamyan helped a Chinese construction company building a 56-kilometer highway in northwestern Armenia evade 240 million drams ($503,000) in taxes. It said the company also paid an Armenian firm owned by Arustamyan 117 million drams in fictitious consulting frees as part of the scam. The Investigative Committee announced on 8 April that Arustamyan was also prosecuted for his refusal to stop the “illegal” construction of a luxury hotel by Multi Group in downtown Yerevan that launched in early 2018.

Shortly after and in the context of Arustamyan’s arrest, the family of Gagik Khacahtaryan accused Armenian authorities of illegally trying to force it to sell its controlling stake in Ucom, one of Armenia’s leading telecommunication and information technology companies, at a knockdown price, reported the Armenian Radio Free Europe. The ex-minister’s two sons and a nephew own a combined 77 percent of the Ucom stock. One of the sons, Gurgen Khachatryan, is also the chairman of the company’s board of directors.

In a written statement, Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that “high-ranking” Armenian officials have threatened to arrest him if he and his brother refuse to cede control of Ucom and another major IT firm. “The threats have reached a point where they have promised to create an uncontrollable situation in the companies, as a result of which, according to them, we will have to agree to sell at the lowest possible price,” he said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was quick to respond to the claim, saying through a spokeswoman that Khachatryan and his relatives must return hundreds of millions of dollars “stolen from the people.”

Pashinyan’s press secretary, Mane Gevorgyan, scoffed at the allegations. In a Facebook post, she described Gagik Khachatryan as a “corrupt” former official who had made a huge fortune while serving as finance minister from 2014-2016 and holding senior positions in the Armenian tax and customs services in the preceding decades. “According to the Armenian government’s information, Gagik Khachatryan and his sons headed a corrupt mafia system that had long operated in Armenia, as a result of which they accumulated illegal wealth worth several hundred million dollars. The prime minister’s position is that this money must be returned to the state in full,” she wrote. The official stressed that relevant authorities would allow the Khachatryans to sell their Ucom stake only if they agree to transfer all proceeds from such a deal to the government. 

On 10 April, Ucom recorded around 400 resignations, including the founders of the company, the brothers Hayk and Alexander Yesayan. The reason behind these decisions is that disputes arose between the leaders and shareholders of Ucom. According to various sources, the discord arose over the company owners’ intention to appoint Andrei Pyatakhin, who currently runs Beeline, for the position of the director. Beeline agreed to be acquired by Ucom in December 2019. The Armenian Ministry of Industry of High Technologies announced that the acquisition has not been approved yet (Caucasus Watch reported).