Do they want to hide the case of Nairit?
Materials are being prepared in the main investigative department of the RA police in regard of the extortion in Nairit factory, the results of which will soon be publicized by the police. This was the answer given to 168-Zham from the public relations department of the RA police.
The Financial Control Department of the Ministry of Finance of Nairit Factory CJSC sent the results of inspections carried out in 2011 to the office of Prosecutor-General but only after the outrageous publication and pressure of Hetq media the General Prosecutor’s Office of the State Administration of advocacy materials prepared materials on March 27. These materials were sent to the Police Department for Combating Organized Crime, which was about 1 month before they are sent to the office. The subject of investigation has two directions.
One of the acts related to the loss of the suit of Nairit to Numard Trading in the amount of 4 billion 900 million AMD. The second act related to the 10 million USD loan taken from the Inter-governmental bank in 2009 by the director of Nairit Vahan Melkonyan.
Let’s remember Megatex bought Nairit from Rhinoville. It turned out that four months after taking the loan Vahan Melkonyan sold Nairit at only 900 million USD. The findings of Hetq also clearly proved that the minister of energy Armen Movsisyan and RA Premier Tigran Sargsyan also have relation to this murky deal.
According to substantiated sources of 168-Zham the investigators of the RA police were internally commended to hide and close the case. For this reason, at the beginning of this month the RA police started to circulated the name of the former director of Nairit Vahagn Makaryan (in 2003) as the main culprit and suspect of the case. It was claimed that the latter had adopted an unsubstantiated agreement in January 2003, by which he financially damaged the state in big amounts.
In November 2009 Numard Trading sued Nairit Factory for not complying with its obligations. It demanded 5 billion AMD (882 million and interest commissions). Here we have a few interesting points, which are worth adverting to. But the investigators have missed those.
We have information that the contract signed in 2002 was not recorded in the books of the factory. The police should inspect the accounting books of the factory.
As of January 1 2006 the debt to the Iranian company was not registered in Armenia. The most important deal was cut in 2006 when Makaryan was not the director of the factory.
During that period, a note was found in Nairit, which was input by the initial A. And this means that the note was back-dated. The Prosecutor’s office has revealed this during the testimony of the then director Karen Israelyan. According to the contract the rubber should have been provided to the Iranian company by August 2003. The note was recorded in 2006.
But Israelyan gave a testimony that he had personally received and signed all the notes at the factory. But this note is signed by his assistant Vladimir Harutyunyan. Nairit saved all the original documents and if the investigators work harder they can find the authentic note.
It is also worth questioning the employees of the period of 2007-2009. In 2009, when Numard Trading applied to the court against Nairit the police seemingly on purpose failed the case. Now instead of questioning the employees of the factory, including the lawyer they go in a deviated direction.
Besides the employees of 2006 and the directors of that period no one else was questioned. It is also interesting that the first instance court investigated the matter twice with different hearings. In the first case the judge of Shengavit Court Ara Kubanyan satisfies the suit by obliging Nairit to pay 5 billion AMD. But the Court of Appeal (after the raised noise) sends the case back to the first instance court, where the judge was Ishkhan Barseghyan, who denies the suit by labeling it outdated.
The debt of Nairit was acquitted without taking into account the signed agreement. The court also decides to levy 247 million AMD from Numard Trading on behalf of the RA state budget. It means that two contradictive verdicts were made based on the same case. And so here the justice committee should find out which one is more truthful and legal. It is also strange how this Iranian company registered offshore forgets about its 2 million USD debt.
We may assume that the people, who were behind this case also have certain relations to the assimilation of this money. Offshore has become a fashionable business here. If the ministry of finance hasn’t revealed the violation the debt would be fixed. In the framework of Nairit the sale of Megatex is also investigated. The bottom-line here is that back in the day Nairit would produce 20 thousand tons of rubber and didn’t lack any warehouses. But when now they are producing only 8 thousand tons annually, they need storage and warehouses.
If they have the wish the police can easily find out the involvement of the energy ministry in this case, which has its representatives in the board of directors. They could easily find out why the ministry would allow Nairit take 10 million loan to buy Megatex and then sell it at 900 thousand USD in a few months.
By Gayane Khachatryan
