Taron Chakhoyan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the RA Prime Minister, made a post on his Facebook page, where he noted that former RA Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan “left Armenia and bought a mansion in the USA for several million dollars.”

168.am contacted former Minister of Defense of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan and asked for an explanation regarding the purchase of a private house in the USA for several million dollars.

“I saw that publication. In the United States, it is not difficult to find information about any person’s property, as well as data about the purchase and sale of real estate. That information field is completely open and transparent. Especially since I did not hide my transaction under the name of other individuals or legal entities. I believe that Arman Babajanyan and many of those spreading the noise today; well know the details of owning property in the USA and access to that information. If not, I can help to find detailed information on many property owners. Moreover, I have personally disclosed my home address in the USA to the relevant authorities of Armenia to enable them to contact me if necessary. That is, there cannot be any “discovery” here from the beginning.

Having not been a public servant for almost 5 years, I work in the US, in an information technology company, and have a stable income. After living on rent for three years, my wife and I made a difficult decision to sell our apartment in Yerevan that we bought in 2013, that is, three years before I became the Minister of Defense, and to buy a house here for our residence.

I was also very surprised by the more intriguing part of the information, which alluded to the the problem of withdrawing money from Armenia in a roundabout way, through someone. That is absolute nonsense. The money for the sale of our apartment was transferred from the buyer’s bank account to my bank account in my name,” the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia said.