President of the Armenian Football Federation Ruben Hayrapetyan, who is also a member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary faction, estimates the moral damage caused to him by the Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) newspaper at U.S. $1 billion.

However, since the newspaper is faced with financial problems, he will demand “a small compensation.” At his meeting with journalists Hayrapetyan expressed the confidence he will win the case and donate the money to orphanages.

Armenian News-NEWS.am reminds readers that the Haykakan Zhamanak published an article discrediting Ruben Hayrapetyan as drug and arms trafficker.

In response, Hayrapetyan said that Smbat Karakhanyan, Chairman of the Unity Association, who provided the information to the newspaper, “may not even exist.”

“One time the Iravunk newspaper published an article claiming I had hosted Yaponchik (Vyacheslav Ivankov, notorious member of the Russian Mafia) in Yerevan. Later I was denied an entry visa for the U.S.,” Hayapetyan said.