YEREVAN. – As promised, the Prosperous Armenia Party’s (PAP) National Assembly (NA) Faction members demonstratively left the NA Sessions’ Hall on Tuesday, once the faction’s last member delivered an address. The PAP MPs will not attend the remaining four-day sitting.

To note, the NA commenced on Monday and continues on Tuesday its special hearing on Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan’s formal petition to include The Civilitas Foundation founder, former FM, and currently PAP MP Vartan Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit.  

NA PAP Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan had stated that the PAP Faction will boycott the voting of this matter and the NA sessions, and the opposition ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party Faction representatives informed that they will vote against it. Ruling Republican Party’s NA Faction leader Galust Sahakyan, on the other hand, noted that the party plans to again discuss its position on this matter.      

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, on May 25 the National Security Service (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 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.