YEREVAN. – In the case when you need money, a passport, any notary-public-approved documents to open a bank account in Armenia, you simply apply for a bank account and it is opened in the West.

Sociologist Aharon Adibekyan stated the aforesaid, during a press conference on Monday, speaking about the recent offshore scandal in Armenia.   

“If a large amount had been put in that account by serious people, I would have believed. But if somebody opens accounts on people’s names for provocation, to smear, this is suspicious. And it is understandable that the PM in office [i.e. Tigran Sargsyan] is not liked by many. [But] if it had not been for Tigran Sargsyan, no international organization would have given us large loans. He has a great reputation in the international organizations. This [offshore scandal] is a vulgar, gross provocation to discredit,” Adibekyan noted.            

In his turn, opposition Heritage Party Executive Board Secretary Stiopa Safaryan stated that this incident is scandalous and unprecedented because a PM and a clergy member are at its center.

“[But] of course, this is Armenia, and it is not surprising that people do not resign, [they] do not even apologize after this [scandal]. [But] it is more perilous that the deprivation of the property of an Armenian businessman is linked to the offshore [account] they opened. Blaming someone for doing all this to mar the good name of the PM is not convincing, to put it mildly,” Safaryan maintained.