Investigation targets 2003 sanatorium privatization

PanARMENIAN.Net - A review of the acquisition of the Golden Key (Voske Banali) Sanatorium, a property owned by Araratcement, has revealed a number of alleged violations, Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said.

According to the findings, a government decision issued on January 9, 2003, authorized the minister responsible for state property management to sell the Golden Key health resort (sanatorium) in the city of Ararat through a tender process. The property, located at 5 Shahumyan Street, had an assessed value of 44.39 million drams, while the minimum sale price was set at 6.5 million drams.

Araratcement CJSC was declared the winner of the tender. Under a contract signed on August 15, 2003, the company committed to investing $30,000 and creating 30 jobs within two years.

According to the review, the company later submitted documents containing allegedly false information, claiming that it had fulfilled those obligations.

The Prosecutor’s Office stated that the head of the State Property Management Department under the Armenian government failed to verify whether the contractual obligations had actually been met and treated them as fulfilled. As a result, the Republic of Armenia allegedly suffered property damage amounting to 44.39 million drams.

The review further found that an authorized official of the Cadastre Committee registered Araratcement’s ownership rights on June 10, 2004, for a sanatorium building and related structures with a total area of 1,468.7 square meters, as well as lease rights to the 3.165-hectare land plot beneath them. Prosecutors claim the registration was based on decisions unrelated to the transaction.

Having identified indications of a possible crime while exercising powers related to the protection of state interests, a prosecutor submitted a criminal report to the Anti-Corruption Committee on June 15, 2026.

At the same time, based on the violations identified in the transfer process, the Prosecutor’s Office has filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court seeking to invalidate the state registration of Araratcement’s ownership rights over the Golden Key Sanatorium in Ararat.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has also reported violations in the privatization of Araratcement and in the company’s acquisition of land plots. On May 5, 2026, it sent a letter to the Armenian government proposing that it consider measures to address the identified violations and their consequences, including the possible appointment of a temporary administrator for the company.

The Prosecutor’s Office said its examination of the legality of other property acquisitions by Araratcement remains ongoing.