Ashot Hovanesian as well as two current and former employees of his U.S.-registered company Synergy International Systems were charged with helping senior Ministry of Economy officials rig a procurement tender which was controversially won by Synergy but invalidated by a court last June.
The indicted officials include Vahan Kerobian, who resigned as economy minister on February 14 two days before being put under house arrest. Kerobian denies abusing his powers to illegally disqualify another bidder and grant the procurement contract to Synergy. Even before his resignation, he publicly dismissed the same charges brought against several of his subordinates.
Hovanesian has likewise denied through his lawyers assisting in the alleged abuse of power by the government officials. His arrest has been criticized by Armenia’s Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) and some pro-government lawmakers.
The latter were among about 70 parliament deputies from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party who petitioned prosecutors to free Hovanesian, senior Synergy executive Lili Mkrian and her former colleague Ani Gevorgian pending investigation. The two young women were released from custody on February 12.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General said Hovanesian, 71, was also set free on bail because he testified about “circumstances of essential importance for the criminal proceedings” and is now less likely to obstruct the probe.
In a February 4 statement, the UATE said that “unfounded” detentions of “business representatives and other prominent persons” are turning Armenia into a “risky country” for local and foreign tech entrepreneurs.
