ArmInfo. Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan was interrogated two days ago as a witness in a criminal case involving an official's illegal participation in entrepreneurial activity. Hovhannisyan shared this information during a press conference on January 21.
He added that he doesn't understand what is meant when asked about "illegal entrepreneurship." "I haven't been involved in entrepreneurship since I became a civil servant, although there were some initiatives before that," he said.
In early 2025, it was reported that the Court of Appeals ordered the Anti-Corruption Court to initiate criminal proceedings against Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan. As reported by lawyer Ara Zohrabyan, on the day of his appointment as Deputy Minister of Finance-August 18, 2021-Vahe Hovhannisyan received an interest-free loan of $1,000,000, a donation of $50,000, and acquired 100% of the shares of Caritas Italiana. According to the Minister's 2021 asset declaration, a portion of Caritas Italiana (an IT company that received state incentives as a startup) belongs to Hovhannisyan. However, on January 10, 2022, the company was reorganized and renamed J-Corder. Moreover, Vahe Hovhannisyan's asset declaration for the same year indicates that he retained $1,050,000 in shares at the end of the year. In his 2023 asset declaration, these shares "disappear." "After the company's reorganization, its 100% owner became Rubik Karapetyan, who, according to media reports, is Vahe Hovhannisyan's uncle," Zohrabyan wrote.
Hovhannisyan himself assured journalists in May 2025 that he had no connection with the aforementioned company since joining the government service at the Ministry of Finance. According to the Minister, after the 2020 war, he and a group of friends decided to establish a technology park that would increase Armenia's capabilities in various high-tech developments. "One of my friends invested in this business and registered it as a debt. It was decided that I should head the company. In August 2021, when I was appointed deputy minister, I transferred the debt registered in my name and the company to a third party. To my knowledge, this company has made all the investments and is now operational," Hovhannisyan said. In addition, the head of the Ministry of Finance assured that he was unaware of the J-Corder company receiving tax benefits from the Armenian government in 2023, exempting it from customs duties on imported goods.
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