On 11 July, the preliminary hearings in the case of the request for confiscation of property of illicit origin from the former Minister of Defense, Member of National Assembly Seyran Ohanyan, his wife Ruzanna Khachatryan, Anna Badalyan, Jacques-Pierre Fovoy, Benyamin Ghalechyan, Marine Nerseyan,  as well as the involved third parties “Araratbank” OJSC and Karine Margaryan took place.

According to Iravaban.net, at the beginning of the session, the secretary of the session said that Seyran Ohanyan’s representative, Karen Mezhlumyan, had submitted a letter to the court asking to postpone the session due to the protest organized by the lawyers. The respondents did not appear at the hearing either.

However, Gevorg Kocharyan, Senior Prosecutor of the Department for Confiscation of Property of Illicit Origin of the Prosecutor General’s Office, was against postponing the court session. In his opinion, the principle of not wasting state resources, including judicial resources, should be observed, the session should be held. “I do not think that the inconvenience of the representative of one of the defendants should be a reason for postponing the session.”

Anahit Beglaryan, the representative of the third person in the case, Karine Margaryan, had a different opinion that the right to strike must be respected. The lawyer announced that he had joined the strike, but considering the “extremely difficult” situation for his client, he interrupted it and appeared in court. “I suggest postponing the remaining part, but listening to the position of the 3rd person regarding the properties considered as the subject of the lawsuit.”

The Court, presided by Karapet Badalyan, decided to reject the petition presented by Karen Mezhlumyan and to continue the investigation of the case. The judge noted that he has read the statement issued by the Chamber of Advocates and considers that it is not respectable not to appear at the session on that basis.

Further, Anahit Beglaryan presented the position of her client, which was related to the real estates located on Nalbandyan Street in Yerevan.

The background is as follows: Sona Khachatryan, the sister of Seyran Ohanyan’s wife, Ruzanna Khachatryan, sold several apartments in the building on the mentioned street to Karine Margaryan in 2021. In the same building, 2 more apartments were owned by Ruzanna Khachatryan’s sister’s daughter, Anna Badalyan. Regarding those 2 immovable properties, they concluded purchase and sale contracts without notarization and without cadastre, transferring them to Margaryan.

However, during that time, the Prosecutor General’s Office placed a ban on the properties and it was not possible to make any deal in the Cadastre Committee. However, the prosecutor assumes that Anna Badalyan and Karine Margaryan initiated a court dispute in an artificial way in order to realize the intention of purchase and sell, so that they could have a court act, through which Karine Margaryan would be able to register these real estates in her name.

At the same time, Gevorg Kocharyan mentioned that it is still necessary to find out whether Karine Margaryan is a bona fide buyer. “We must be convinced of her good faith. According to the data presented, she bought the real estate at a price close to the market price.

The plaintiff’s representative also mentioned that the total value of the last 2 real estates is about 1.5 million USD. The position of the Prosecutor General’s Office is that Seyran Ohanyan is the beneficial  owner of the real estate registered in the name of both Anna Badalyan and Ruzanna Khachatryan.

Karine Margaryan’s representative told the court that due to the bans placed on the properties within the framework of this proceeding, the latter is suffering losses, as there is a business plan in which “large sums” have been invested. “We have nothing to do within the framework of this proceeding.”

Thus, Gevorg Kocharyan asked the court for time to evaluate Karine Margaryan’s integrity. The session was adjourned and scheduled for 4 August.

It should be reminded that the Department for Confiscation of Property of Illicit Origin of the Prosecutor General’s Office submitted a request to the court. To confiscate in favor of the Republic of Armenia from Ohanyan and his related persons, in particular:

• 2 public areas in Yerevan, a private house in Vahagni district, as well as 1 means of transport, and in case of impossibility, their average market value, which is AMD 1,092,538,513 in total,
• AMD 477,473,907 as the balance of illegal funds, as well as AMD 600,762,179, which is not justified by the legal income of a person, is of illicit origin and cannot be confiscated based on Article 20, Part 4 of the Law on Confiscation of Property of Illicit Origin.

Yevgenia Hambardzumyan