YEREVAN. – Armenia’s National Assembly (NA) on Monday will hold a special hearing to discuss Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan’s formal petition to include The Civilitas Foundation founder, former FM, and currently Prosperous Armenia Party MP Vartan Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit. 

To note, on September 27 Hovsepyan submitted to NA a written petition requesting the parliament’s consent that Oskanian be included as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit filed by the National Security Service (NSS) Department of Investigation.  

At present, The Civilitas Foundation staff members are protesting outside the NA building. 

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, on May 25 the NSS Department of Investigation filed a criminal lawsuit on charges of money laundering with respect to The Civilitas Foundation.

The NSS Press Center had informed that an investigation is underway in connection with selling the 100-percent shares of the Huntsman Building Products Company for around $2 million, but not informing Armenia’s tax authorities about this business deal; not using for charitable purposes $1,135,000 of that amount envisioned for charity; transferring this amount to the bank accounts opened under the names of the Civilitas Foundation’s founder—former FM and currently Prosperous Armenia Party MP—Vartan Oskanian,  and of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees member Tigran Karapetyan; and using some of this amount for private purposes.

In addition, as per the NSS Press Center, The Civilitas Foundation had not presented a report on the $2 million allocated for charitable purposes.