‘Haykakan Jamanak’. Defendant in ‘Offshore’ Case Acquitted

‘Haykakan Jamanak’ reports: The renowned diamond cutter Ashot Sukiasyan, who spent six years in prison in connection with the well-known ‘Offshore’ case, has been acquitted by the Armenian Court of Appeals and was released from the prison facility on January 31, 2020.

It is known that in 2013, businessman Paylak Hayrapetyan claimed that his approximately $100 million real estate assets were mortgaged in one of the banks in 2009, which assessed the property at $33 million, and in return, businessman Ashot Sukiasyan received $10.7 million. Instead of investing that money in gold and diamond mining in Africa, he transferred it to several offshore companies in Cyprus, including Wlispera Holdings Limited, resulting in Paylak Hayrapetyan losing his property.

The official website of the Cyprus registry listed Ashot Sukiasyan, former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, and Archbishop Navasar Kchoyan as shareholders of Wlispera Holdings Limited. In 2017, the General Jurisdiction Court of Yerevan sentenced the defendant Ashot Sukiasyan in the ‘Offshore’ case to 16 years in prison. He appealed the ruling to the Armenian Court of Appeals and was recognized as innocent in the New Armenia.

The Court of Appeals found that Sukiasyan did not engage in fraud or money laundering, but rather maliciously evaded taxes, duties, or mandatory other payments. Businessman Hayrapetyan has appealed this decision to the Armenian Court of Cassation.