YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)-After the trial of the Norinvest financial company was over–the investors’ commission–led by Karen Pahlevanian–worked out a deal with Norinvest officials which will pay back some of the money invested by people who lost money in the company.
According to Pahlevanian–Norinvest has $55,000 in its account and approximately $200,000 in assets.
Pahlevanian said that when the assets are sold–the commission will get nearly seven percent of the total debt.
Eighty percent of the three thousand depositors were pensioners; 74 were veterans or participants of the Great Patriotic War–23 were Afghanistan war veterans–and 120 people need urgent medical assistance.
The commission decided to return all of the money to those who deposited $15 or less–25 percent to those who invested $16 to $100–12 to 24 percent to those who invested $101 to $500–eight to 12 percent to those who invested $501 to $3,000 and seven percent to those who invested more than $3,000.
The paymen’s will take six months and will be carried out in several stages. Pahlevanian stressed that if they manage to get $326,000 from Hrachia Kazarian–a London partner of Norinvest– $200,000 in snake anti-venom and $70,000 in geranium oil also held by Kazarian–then the investors will get more of their money back.
Karapet Alexanian–chief accountant of the now-defunct Norinvest financial company–has appealed to the Supreme Court following a guilty verdict. He was sentenced to nine years in prison and complete confiscation of his property.
At present–he is the only one of the eight defendants in the Norinvest trial who has appealed.
The court sentenced the president of the company–Armen Martirossian–to 12 years in prison with confiscation of all his property–Gourgen Martirossian to seven years and confiscation of his property and Martiros Hovannesian to six years in prison. Petros Ambarjan and Vardan Gharibian were released from custody– and the case of Artashes Martirossian–vice-president of the company–was sent for further investigation.
In accordance with the verdict–the prosecutor’s office will investigate Norinvest’s debts.
Kazarian’s debts will also be investigated by the prosecutor’s office as well.