Scoundrels must face sanctions and have nowhere to flee

First Informational’s interviewee is analyst Arbak Khachatryan.

— Mr. Khachatryan, it recently became known that the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on 10 Russian thieves-in-law. Among them is Ruben Tatulyan, known as Robson, a member of the Investors’ Club established by the prime minister. How do you assess this fact, and what dangers does it contain?

— Ten years ago I said there was such a need and that such a policy should be developed, but I would not want to focus on particular people. Armenia has a very serious problem. The entire banking system carries out plunder, and this system must be dismantled. Armenia’s banking system is in a terrible state; its employees are smiling, progressive young people, but they do not even understand what they are doing. The whole Armenian people are in debt through loans.

Armenia has now become a branch of Gazprom. Can you imagine what will happen if Gazprom comes under sanctions? Armenia currently has two ways to obtain gas—Iran and Gazprom—and both are exposed to the risk of sanctions. What will happen to Armenia? No, Armenia is not interested in any of this; Armenia depends on criminal money. Shopping centers are built in Armenia, and they announce they have invested in the country. Have you asked with what money? Today Armenia has one path to recover: change the banking system and forgive people’s loans. Only that will allow hungry people to get back on their feet; today people mortgage their homes because they have no money. All the scoundrels close to power must come under sanctions and have nowhere to flee.

— For example, in Russia, people close to Putin have now come under US sanctions; in Armenia, people close to the highest circles of power, to Serzh Sargsyan, are also criminal bosses. In fact, by punishing these people, the United States directly strikes Putin. Could a similar blow be dealt to Serzh Sargsyan, for example?

— In a sense, yes. But I also do not think punishing particular people in Armenia will produce positive changes; the system must be struck. Ostentatiously pursuing one individual is pointless work.

People in Armenia are now in a terrible condition: parents cannot buy basic school supplies for a child; they mortgage their home to support a student. Meanwhile, scoundrels enrich themselves at the people’s expense and retain power.

— And when they are outside power, they have to sell what they accumulated. Hovik Abrahamyan, for example. In other words, if you are not inside the system, you can no longer enjoy the “benefits of power.”

— Yes, plunder is possible only inside the system. I would not focus solely on Hovik Abrahamyan; the entire system is in this condition. If you are close to the president and inside the system, you are free and nothing threatens you; if outside the system, you are finished. To avoid being finished completely, people sell what they have, leave for Europe or the United States, and create a new life while remaining unpunished. In many cases they do not even manage to sell; things are taken from them so thoroughly that not even a trace remains.

— Are there fears that other Russian-Armenian oligarchs will also appear on a new US sanctions list by the end of 2018—those close to Vladimir Putin and his immediate circle?

— I very much doubt that this young man from Sochi is one of Putin’s close associates, but in any event, yes, there are concerns. Singer Grigory Leps also came under sanctions at one time, but what did he do? What information did the United States receive to act that way? I do not want to justify or accuse anyone; in any event, the United States is now simply engaged in politics, and I will not focus on particular people.

— What interests us more is that our authorities are there today precisely thanks to elections “organized” by such criminal bosses.

— The authorities direct these elements. Leaving the “fish’s head” alone, we think about the executors; anyone given the opportunity would have done it.

— Do you think that if these people are struck by financial sanctions, they will again behave the same way at elections?

— One group will replace another; we must “catch it by the head.” Those at the helm today fought in the Karabakh war, and as soon as they entered the system, they began selling the country. It began with the first president and continued with the second and third. Give anyone the opportunity and they will carry out this plunder. You remember what was said about Gagik Tsarukyan; they even turn relatives against relatives. To achieve their desired aims, they intrude into private and family life.

The entire Armenian people work and sink into debts and loans, while those at the top absorb billions, using the fraudulent banking system for their own benefit. That is what we must dismantle; only by doing so can we bring about real changes.