YEREVAN. – The Civilitas Foundation founder, former FM, and Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP Vartan Oskanian’s case will be at the focus of attention of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) deputies, Armenian National Assembly’s PACE delegation members and PAP MPs Naira Zohrabyan and Vahe Hovhannisyan said in a statement.       

“Numerous PACE MPs and Chairmanship members are seriously concerned by Vartan Oskanian’s case, and they have expressed their unconditional support to Vartan Oskanian. All of PACE’s political groups and national delegations have been informed about the particulars of the case, and we have received most serious guarantees that this matter will be at the focus of PACE’s attention. They have asked us to inform PACE in the case of any development in connection with Vartan Oskanian’s case, [and] promised an operative response.  

Furthermore, [and] understanding that being a PACE MP endows a [Council of Europe] CoE-member country’s MP some additional immunity, we [hereby] announce that we stand ready to yield our place in the PACE delegation to Vartan Oskanian,” Naira Zohrabyan and Vahe Hovhannisyan specifically stated.    

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the National Security Service (NSS) Department of Investigation has brought formal charges Monday against Vartan Oskanian.

To note, on October 2 the National Assembly voted—by 64 ballots for, six against, and with one invalid vote—in favor of Prosecutor General’s petition to include Vartan Oskanian as a defendant in a criminal lawsuit. A total of 71 MPs participated in the voting.

On May 25 NSS Department of Investigation had 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. In his turn, Vartan Oskanian considers the charges to be politically motivated.

The Civilitas Foundation was founded in 2008 by Vartan Oskanian. After joining Prosperous Armenia Party ahead of the May 6 parliamentary elections, however, Oskanian gave up his post as the Foundation Chairman.

Photo by Sona Barseghyan