RA NA discussing consent to prosecution of MPs Seyran Ohanyan and  Artsvik Minasyan 

ArmInfo.  At the extraordinary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on July 4, the petition of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Armenia on the consent of the country's parliament to the criminal prosecution of the leader of the opposition faction "Armenia" Seyran  Ohanyan and the secretary of the same faction Artsvik Minasyan is  being discussed.

Before the start of the session, the NA deputies from the opposition  factions "Armenia" and "I have the honor" refused to participate in  the session. NA deputy Aghvan Vardanyan, in particular, pointed out  that the discussions are taking place without the participation of  the National Hero of Armenia and Artsakh, Colonel General Seyran  Ohanyan, who led the armed forces through three wars. "Everything is  clear, another illegal process is underway, in which our faction, and  I hope the "I have the honor" faction, will not participate,"  Vardanyan said. The Secretary of the "I have the honor" faction  Tigran Abrahamyan supported his colleagues. After that, the  oppositionists left the NA meeting room. In response, NA Speaker Alen  Simonyan noted that he had not received any notifications from Seyran  Ohanyan, and for this reason his absence cannot be considered valid.

Then the motion was submitted by the RA Prosecutor General Anna  Vardapetyan, who noted that as a result of the investigative  activities, factual data was obtained that as a result of illegal  actions, a land plot of 10,526 square meters in the Drakhtik  community, which is part of the territory of the Sevan National Park  SNCO, which is state property, was withdrawn from circulation. In  2010-2015, a mansion was built on the said land plot without the  right to development by a person obliged to submit a declaration. On  December 12, 2016, as a result of a tender held by the  interdepartmental competition committee, Yerevan resident Benjamin  Ghalechyan was recognized as the sole winner. The said land plot was  provided to him with the right to lease and develop for a period of  25 years, with an investment of 250 million drams over 2 years for  the construction of a recreation area. In the absence of the right to  development, Seyran Ohanyan instructed his subordinate Ashot  Grigoryan, who held the position of head of the capital construction  and quartering department of the Ministry of Defense, and other  persons to organize and ensure the construction of a mansion for  himself on this territory. In turn, Grigoryan organized and ensured  the construction of an illegal building worth 125 million drams  during 2010-2015.

As a result, Seyran Ohanyan's property increased by an amount  significantly exceeding his legal income. In order to fulfill Seyran  Ohanyan's order to organize the repair and reconstruction of the  swimming pool and sauna of the Grigoryan mansion, having been  informed that the construction company Sitta Group LLC, owned by the  family of Grigor Barseghyan, who holds the position of head of the  production and technical department of the capital construction and  quartering department of the Ministry of Defense, participated in the  tenders announced by the Ministry of Defense and was recognized as  the winner, offered Barseghyan to build a swimming pool and a sauna,  to which the latter agreed. Sitta Group LLC carried out construction  work at its own expense for about 64.5 million drams. However, they  were suspended in September 2015 due to the fact that the money ran  out. Grigor Barseghyan and his father Levon Barseghyan informed  Grigoryan about this, asking him to pay for the work done. Grigoryan,  on Ohanyan's instructions, refused to pay the amount, noting that  this money was in fact a "kickback" for recognizing the company as  the winner of tenders previously announced by the Ministry of Defense  for construction work. However, the company was promised new  victories in competitions that were to be held in the future. Levon  Barseghyan, understanding the dependence of his company's future  activities on Seyran Ohanyan and Ashot Grigoryan, agreed to this  proposal.

As for the charges against Artsvik Minasyan, according to the case  materials, he is accused of having previously, as Minister of the  Environment, actually approved the issue of granting the right to  alienate a land plot and construct buildings on it. In particular, on  September 28, 2016, Artsvik Minasyan, having received documents  containing false information about the land plot, submitted them for  discussion to the interdepartmental competition committee created for  the purpose of providing land plots in specially protected natural  areas with the right to lease and (or) construction. The committee,  chaired by Artsvik Minasyan, unanimously decided at a meeting held on  October 5, 2016 to submit the issue for discussion to the government  commission on territorial development and environmental protection,  which was subsequently done. Thus, with his actions, Artsvik Minasyan  contributed to the implementation of illegal actions by the former  Minister of Defense.