State likely to reject ex-general’s donation offer, expropriate property

The government is likely to refuse the offered property donations from ex-general Manvel Grigoryan and ex-customs official Armen Avetisyan, since the general prosecution might have objections, Chairman of the State Property Management Committee Narek Babayan told ARMENPRESS.

Grigoryan, a former general and MP currently jailed on corruption-related charges, and Avetisyan, the former director of the Customs Service, have offered to donate private property to the state. Grigoryan’s offered land and property donation is valued nearly 10 million dollars, while Avetisyan offered to donate the Golden Palace Hotel of Tsakhkadzor.

Babayan said that the committee must first design a draft , and only after receiving the conclusions from all relevant bodies the government can decide to receive the donation or not.

“The prosecution’s opinion is required for the government decision. As far as the judicial process, there might be certain objections from the prosecution,” he said. He said the state cannot accept problematic property as donation.

He said it is likely that the property won’t be taken as a donation, because it might get expropriated anyway in the future.

“We can assume that the property has been acquired illegally, otherwise they wouldn’t give it away,” he said.

Babayan said they will study the case.

He argues that perhaps the two former officials wanted to raise their public image by making the donation.

He said the state will evaluate the value of the properties if it decides to take it as a donation.

He said that the properties are likely to get auctioned off.