All Enterprises Must Disclose Their Actual Owners, Including Media Outlets: Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, announced during today's government meeting that all enterprises must disclose their actual owners. “This applies not only to ordinary businesses but also to media outlets,” he added.

“If someone is charged with an offense, you are guaranteed to see that defendant sitting on certain channels, emotionally explaining to the audience where lobsters should winter. In a way, that’s even good; it allows us to understand where corruption remains and who is behind it,” he stated.

According to the Prime Minister, any information related to business owners must be available to the state for accurate taxation purposes.

Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan noted that the initial phase of the requirement to disclose owners applies to mining companies. They must reveal all specific individuals who own 10% or more of the company's shares.

“Now we want to develop a unified standard for disclosing owners across all enterprises,” the minister added.

It is worth mentioning that the requirement for transparency regarding shareholders (owners of 10% or more shares) in mining companies will come into effect in Armenia on January 30. Furthermore, it will be necessary to indicate not only the companies but also the individuals behind them. Armenia has adopted this law, becoming a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).