Am I the one closing the can? Vladimir Gasparyan

Former Chief of Police of Armenia, Vladimir Gasparyan, denies any connection with the criminal case related to the sale of a type of fish caught illegally in Lake Sevan. This was reported by news.am.

“I absolutely have no connection to this criminal case. It is right that it was initiated; I want it to be initiated so that they understand what is happening, the results will come, and we will know,” he stated.

When asked what his connection is with the canned fish producer 'Galilia' LLC, Gasparyan replied, “The owner of 'Galilia' LLC is my mother-in-law, but another director has been working in the company’s production facility. What connection do we have? Am I the one closing the can? It is an area registered in my mother-in-law's name, which is leased to people who work there. They probably think, ‘Gasparyan is the one closing the can,’ and have published such material.”

Earlier, fip.am published information about 'Galilia' LLC, a producer of canned fish, regarding its connection with the family of former Chief of Police Vladimir Gasparyan. The website mentioned that the canned fish produced by 'Galilia' is exported to the USA. From 2014 to 2017, Vahe Gulyan was the director of 'Galilia' LLC. He is currently the director of 'Sevan National Park.'

Today, it became known that based on media publications, the Protection of Public Interests Division of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia conducted an investigation into fishing for industrial, agricultural, and social purposes, specifically regarding the use of the fish species. It was revealed that facts of the sale of over 44,000 kg of fish for canning, export, and other purposes were discovered during the prohibition of fishing for this species between 2017-2018. According to the results of the investigations, a criminal case has been initiated in accordance with part 1 of Article 216 and part 2 of Article 292 of the RA Criminal Code, pertaining to acquiring or selling property through obvious criminal means and to the extraction of fish or other aquatic animals causing significant damage by a group of individuals acting in collusion. The investigation has been assigned to the Investigative Committee of Armenia.