Over the years, the public has been informed of the illegalities of some organizations engaged in the construction of new buildings and the ex-regime representatives under the sponsorship and direct involvement of the former authorities’ regime, such as forced evictions and deprivation of property of the residents, multiple sales of the built apartments, and as a result appropriation of citizens’ funds.
Of the developers was probably only the “Elite Group” CJSC that remained in the shadow of vicious crimes and presented itself to the public as a conscientious organization. Yet, recently it has become obvious that they also did not stay out of sponsorship of the former regime and, why not, of replenishing the shadow “mash bowl” of the regime with means appropriated fraudulently.
The “Elite Group” CJSC adopted another shadow policy: no mention in most of the agreements of the real sums of the sales of flats, changing intentionally the recorded amounts, embezzling them, and avoiding tax liabilities as well.
One episode of financial machinations of the “Elite Group” CJSC:
Eduard Hovsepyan, who applied to the “Veles” human rights NGO for legal assistance in the summer of 2018, was one of the first who raised the issue and documented the mechanism of the financial machinations carried out by the management of the “Elite Group” CJSC. Thus, in 2007, Eduard’s parents arranged with the management of the “Elite Group” CJSC on the purchase of 162 sq.m. of living space (AMD 300,000 per sq.m.) and of two parking lots (worth 2 million 900 thousand AMD) at the address of 29 Rostom Street in Yerevan. In 2007, as a preliminary agreement of property purchase, the “Elite Group” CJSC provided his parents an unauthorized sheet of paper as an agreement.
In 2007-2008, based on the factual verbal agreement with Armen Mkoyan, the president of the “Elite Group” CJSC, Eduard Hovsepyan’s parents made an advance payment of the 52 million 180 thousand AMD into the cash register of the “Elite Group” CJSC, through 15 checks, including the money for the two parking lots (2 million 900 thousand AMD).
On May 11, 2009, soon after the receipt of the full sum of 52 million AMD, previously agreed upon with Eduard Hovsepyan’s parents, a real estate purchase and sale agreement was signed between Hovsepyan’s parents and the “Elite Group” CJSC, which is evidence of the criminal acts of the “Elite Group” CJSC.
Thus, the “Elite Group” deliberately concealed in the agreement 21 million 180 thousand drams of the actually paid money, indicating in it only 31 million drams, instead of actually paid 52 million 180 thousand AMD. They also indicated 151.2 sq.m. as the size of the surface of the residential area instead of the pre-arranged 162 sq.m. By modifying the price in the agreement, the “Elite Group” CJSC appropriated deliberately, through one episode only, 21 million 180 thousand AMD put in advance in the cash register of the organization by the citizen. In addition, it deceived the state by appropriating 3 million 529 thousand AMD.
Taking into consideration the number of more than 13 blocks of flats constructed by the “Elite Group” CJSC in Yerevan and other similar deals known and yet unidentified, the embezzlement of those huge amounts of money and tax evasion committed by the “Elite Group” CJSC has become evident.
P.S. Later we will highlight other illegal actions by “Elite Group” CJSC.