Who Owns the Mine? The New Law Will Reveal Everyone

Today, the Permanent Committee on Economic Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia gave a positive conclusion to the package of government-proposed projects related to the mining industry, which aims to reveal the actual owners in this sector.

Thus, through amendments and additions made to the Code on Subsoil, as well as the associated package, the government proposes to make the actual owners in the mining sector transparent and to disclose their identities.

The Acting Minister of Energy Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Garegin Baghramyan, informed that the package regulates the entire process of revealing the actual owners in the mining industry.

According to the official, the draft establishes the concepts related to the institute of actual owners, as well as the procedure for registering actual owners.

“To make the process more efficient, the circle of persons with political influence has been identified in the draft as those who are obliged to present a declaration of interests under the law on public service, with the exception of investigators and their family members,” noted Baghramyan.

Meanwhile, amendments made to the Law on Public Service stipulate that the declarant bears the obligation to submit a declaration of interests, regardless of the shareholding in the legal entity.

The Code on Subsoil presents requirements regarding the disclosure of information concerning actual owners, with the responsibility being stipulated as the suspension and termination of the right to use subsoil. If the draft is adopted, it will come into force on July 1, 2019.