Wednesday, June 24 2020 14:01

ArmInfo. The processes around Gagik Tsarukyan are part of the struggle of Nikol Pashinyan's government with the oligarchy rooted in our country over the years.  This is one of the next stages in the overall recovery of the  economy, former Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, economist  Bagrat Asatryan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

On June 16, the parliamentary majority - the My Step bloc - deprived  Tsarukyan of parliamentary immunity, giving green light to his  prosecution and arrest. However, on June 21, a court of general  jurisdiction, chaired by judge Robert Papoyan, decided to reject the  motion of the prosecutor's office to arrest Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan has  been set free temporarily, but the case against him has not been  closed, and an alternative measure of restraint has not been  determined.

"The oligarchy in Armenia suffered a defeat and become obsolete  starting from March 1, 2008, speaking out against the popular  movement. The oligarchy is an evil for the economy and the state, it  simply could not live long. Moreover, I don't think that Prosperous  Armenia has the political content that allows this force to pose a  danger to Pashinyan's power. The latter, in turn, is far from ideal,  and has its own flaws, omissions, a number of unresolved problems.  But this power has the main and most important property - legitimacy,  a high level of trust and authority, " he stressed.

In this light, Asatryan does not see the political context around  what is happening with Tsarukyan.  According to him, the process is  fully within the legal framework and in the context of building the  rule of law. According to his forecasts, Tsarukyan's possible arrest  will not bring special, long-term economic upheavals. Given the share  of Tsarukyan's businesses in the economy, the economist is confident  that Tsarukyan will not leave the Armenian economy. Neither  voluntarily nor under pressure. His enterprises will simply lose  their many years of competitive advantage, benefits, maximum  greenhouse conditions and "immunity".

Asatryan also noted that even if some of the Multi Group enterprises  decrease their activity or even close, others will take their place.  Some of them may be subjected to pressure, but the situation around  Tsarukyan's specific personality, according to his forecasts, will  not lead to serious upheavals and castling.  The economist considers  Tsarukyan's arrest to be part of the overall process of healing the  country, given that his wealth was accumulated unlawfully.

The economist noted that Tsarukyan, of course, is far from the only  one of his kind. The remaining oligarchs, who are part of the  previous government, simply fled from the political arena. And today  they do not play a significant role in politics. According to him, in  international practice in such cases, the blow is always delivered to  the most influential oligarch in order to restrain others and make  them work in good faith.  "The authorities target him and go all the  way. This is the way to establish the rule of law in the country. In  this sense, Tsarukyan will be a lesson for the rest. And they will  not try to evade taxes and develop the business in illegal ways. This  is an example of improving the business, further development of the  economy. Moreover, I do not exclude similar processes with respect to  the rest of the former oligarchs and, of course, members of the  former ruling elite. As it is the one who is the author and  responsible of all this oligarchic "inheritance," Asatryan concluded.

Earlier, the NSS reported that the state budget was deprived of 30  billion drams as a result of the illegal activities of Tsarukyan's  companies in the field of gambling. After that, the special services  informed the public about two more criminal cases. The first is  connected with the distribution of bribes during the 2017 election  campaign, the second with the appropriation of land in the village of  Arinj.

It should be noted that the Multi Group company, controlled by Gagik  Tsarukyan, was created in the second half of the 90s on shares (50% -  50%) with the now deceased sibling of the second president of Armenia  Robert Kocharyan Valeriy Kocharyan. In State register10 years ago,  Multi Group was registered in the names of Tsarukyan and members of  the Kocharian family. Subsequently, these data were deleted from the  register. It is not known whether the deal to transfer package of  shares or shares took place.