Epress.am News from Armenia
In regards to former Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan’s well known offshore scandal, the suffering party, Paylak Hayrapetyan does not wish for legal confrontation only with the defendant, Ashot Sukiasyan. During an interview with Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, Hayrapetyan elaborated that he first wished to legally confront former PM Tigran Sargsyan and Armenian Apostolic Church Ararat Pontifical Diocese head, Navasard Archbishop Kjoyan.
“I am demanding to legally confront them, I refuse to confront Sukiasyan, he has become a tool; I’ve told the investigator that I’m not going against him,” said Hayrapetyan, the suffering party.
Haykakan Zhamanak emphasized that weeks earlier Paylak Hayrapetyan was preparing a legal confrontation with Ashot Sukiasyan, but now, for whatever reasons, he has refused to.
According to the paper, Hayrapetyan may have understood that the confrontation would have given an opportunity for the “big fish” to be left out of the case.
“Even during the cross-examination, Ashot Sukiasyan would claim that Sargsyan and Kjoyan are not aware of anything, and the investigator would consider his testimony to be credible. This is understandable, but from the other side, refusing to go ahead with the confrontation doesn’t solve this problem. Let us note that, as of yesterday, neither Tigran Sargsyan nor Navasard Kjoyan, have not been interrogated in this case,” writes the newspaper.
To note, Ashot Sukiasyan was arrested on January 31st in Tbilisi and on April 15 a Tbilisi court decided to extradite him back to Armenia.
Ashot Sukiasyan, who is the godson of Archbishop Navasard Kjoyan, was under investigation in connection to Paylak Hayrapetyan’s case. Sukiasyan is accused of large-scale fraud, causing large-scale damage to property through deceit or abuse of trust, and legitimizing large amounts of money through criminal means.
Recall, Hetq.am first broke the story that Sukiasyan, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, and Kjoyan are the owners of an offshore company. Later, Sukiasyan took the blame, saying that he registered an offshore company, Wlispera Holdings Limited, in Cyprus unbeknownst to Sargsyan and Kjoyan.
Photograph – Photolure