Epress.am News from Armenia
The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia has confirmed that charges have been brought against Robert Kocharyan’s son.
The NSS reports that comprehensive investigation and operative surveillance as part of the criminal case investigated by the Investigative Committee of Armenia, offences of significant tax evasion and legalization of income obtained through illegal channels have been uncovered. Robert Kocharyan’s son, Sedrak Kocharyan has been found to have had direct affiliation with organizing commission of these acts.
Sedrak Kocharyan had an unexplained $5.3 million in his bank accounts on which he had not paid taxes amounting to $2 million. The NSS said he had laundered the money through a complex scheme involving companies run by other members of the Kocharyan family, and had used it to buy property including the Best Western Congress Hotel in downtown Yerevan.
According to evidence obtained by the investigation of the criminal case, Sedrak Kocharyan was in charge of organizing the process of conducting tax fraud of significant amounts of taxable income through the employees of one of the companies established by him. Later, he aimed to hide the illegal origin of the large amounts of money and evaded taxation and tried legalize these amounts through a number of bank transfers and acquisition of property.
Sedrak Kocharyan had an unexplained $5.3 million in his bank accounts on which he had not paid taxes amounting to around $2 million. He laundered the money through the company he established. The scheme of tax fraud and money laundering involved 2 fake lending agreements signed by the CEO of the company and administered by the accounting department, as a result of which $5.3 million was transferred to Sedrak Kocharyan’s personal account as a repayment of the loan. In order to falsify the origin of taxable income not paid to the budget, Sedrak Kocharyan put it into legal circulation by merging it with the rest of &5.6 million available on his account and engaging in various transactions with companies affiliated with himself and his other family members, including by buying West Western Congress Hotel.
Sedrak Kocharyan is charged with organizing tax evasion and money laundering in accordance with Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of Armenia and Clause 1 of Part 3 of Article 190, while the CEO of the company established by him, Aleksan Vorskanyan is charged with malicious evasion of taxes in accordance with Part 2 of Article 205. The means of restraint applied to them is a signature not leave the country.
“Large-scale investigations are being undertaken to find out the legitimacy of the acquisition of numerous real estate and other assets by Sedrak Kocharyan and his family, and the preliminary investigation on the criminal case continues,” the NSS statement said.