BY APPO JABARIAN
APRIL 17, 2020
On Tuesday April 13, the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia (NSS-RA) indicted Archbishop Navasard Kchoyan for his collusion with an Armenian businessman to defraud another entrepreneur out of combined $12 million.
National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia (NSS-RA) is the Armenian equivalent of the KGB and FBI.
Although the statement named no names, it clearly referred to Ashot Sukiasyan, who was convicted in December 2017 of having misappropriated most of a $10.7 million loan which his former business partner, Paylak Hayrapetyan, borrowed from an Armenian commercial bank in 2012. Sukiasyan had pledged to invest that money in diamond mining in Sierra Leone. He never did that, according to prosecutors. A district court in Yerevan sentenced Sukiasyan to 16 years in prison.
Sukiasyan was arrested in Georgia, extradited to Armenia and charged with fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in 2014 after Hetq.am discovered that Hayrapetyan’s money was transferred to the offshore bank accounts of several Cyprus-registered companies. The investigative publication disclosed a document purportedly certifying that one of those firms is co-owned by Sukiasyan, then Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Archbishop Kchoyan.
Both Sargsyan, who resigned as prime minister in April 2014, and Kchoyan strongly denied having any stakes in the company, saying that it was registered in their names in Cyprus without their knowledge. Both claimed that their signatures were forged.
The NSS-RA statement said that Karekin II’s, Hovnan Derderian’s, Sinan Sinanian’s, Berg Setrakian’s and Attorney Joseph Kanimian’s fellow clansman Kchoyan, who heads the Armenian Apostolic Church’s largest diocese encompassing Etchmiadzin, Yerevan and the southern Ararat province, owned 33 percent of the offshore company. It said that he convinced Sukiasyan to cover up his involvement in the scam.
Kchoyan on Thursday denied through a lawyer the accusations brought against him. “Let them present a single piece of evidence that the archbishop was offered or given a single penny from that sum,” the lawyer, Hovik Arsenyan, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
But many faithful are asking, “How can a vice-primate with a meager salary, afford to own a Bentley and other luxury cars?” Others are flabbergasted that “Kchoyan drives around town with a loaded revolver by his side. Is he really a spiritual servant, a man of God or he is just another gangster?”
Reportedly, in late 1970’s-early 1980’s, during his days as a covert Communist KGB agent operating under the cover of being a university ‘student’ and an Armenian Church ‘celibate priest,’ Kchoyan’s and Hovnan Derderian’s ally, Karekin II had stabbed an innocent person in Austria. Now disbanded Soviet KGB then whisked him away to Germany. Next, he was overnighted to the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia.
In a misguided reaction to the April 13 indictment of Arch. Kchoyan, the current occupier of the throne of Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II resorted to a “bewildering” tit-for-tat against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government demanding the release of jailed former Pres. Kocharyan under the pretext of “justifiable” current global Coronavirus pandemic. This latest stunt was met with strong criticism from PM Pashinyan’s office. It also sparked widespread public outcry in Armenia and Diaspora as well as angry reactions from Pashinyan’s political allies and supporters wordlwide.
“Thousands of Armenians in Armenia and around the world have demanded Karekin II’s resignation,” underlined Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Alen Simonyan on Wed. April 15. Deputy Speaker Simonyan added on his social network page that “Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said that he considers it important to change Robert Kocharyan’s prison term.” Naming Catholicos Karekin II with the latter’s civilian name, he continued: “I think that citizen Ktrich Nersisyan (Karekin II), who has been silent for decades … can freely become a guarantor in court.” He noted that “Karekin II has (more than) enough money to spend for Kocharyan’s defense.”
Is Arch. Kchoyan’s massive thefts an isolated incident? Many readers of USA Armenian Life now realize that Kchoyan and Arch. Hovnan Derderian, along with Karekin II are leading members of an international crime syndicate operating for couple decades under the cover of Armenian Apostolic Church headquartered in Armenia with satellite diocese across the globe.
While Kchoyan reportedly conspired to swindle a ‘friend’ out of $12 millions of dollars in Armenia, Derderian of Los Angeles along with his diocesan spokesperson, Pastor Manouk Markaryan, Markaryan’s son Western Diocese Exec. Dir. Harout Markaryan also conspired to defraud various benefactors out of millions of dollars.
Additionally, before being expelled from Canada, Derderian misappropriated thousands of dollars from a Canadian-Armenian relief fund earmarked for Armenian orphans and widows in Armenia and Artsakh.
SIMILAR TO UNITED STATES, ARMENIA IS NOT A BANANA REPUBLIC BUT A VIBRANT DEMOCRACY
In United States, as many readers may be aware by now, during the last few years, when a number of corrupt Catholic Church clergy were accused for molesting children, the U.S. government through its functioning judicial system protected its citizens against the corrupted clergy.
In other instances, when Armenian Church Western Diocese’s Derderian triumvirate (Arch. Derderian, Rev. Markarian and son Markarian) were accused in conspiring to swindle major benefactors out of millions of dollars, United States government came to the defense of its civilian citizens’ rights by way of holding fair trials in American courts and carried out its fiduciary duties towards its citizens. The result:
- IN THE CASE OF CATHOLIC CHURCH, the Church lost several criminal cases. Thousands of abused innocent children and their families that were victimized achieved justice and received compensation; the culprits were sent to prison;
- IN THE CASE OF ARMENIAN CHURCH WESTERN DIOCESE’S DERDERIAN-MARKARIAN TRIUMVIRATE, the Western Diocese lost two major civilian cases and has been subjected to punitive damages:
1) In 2005, in the case Western Diocese Vs. Alavjian Catering (Case Number: BC316046), the judge found Derderian’s Western Diocese liable and guilty in financial wrongdoing;
2) In 2019, in the case Western Diocese Vs. Petros Taglyan (Case Number: 18STCV02144), the judge found Derderian’s and the Markarians’ Western Diocese liable and guilty. The Diocese loss of both legal cases caused waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars of faithful donors’ moneys.
When the American judicial system administered justice in service of all its citizens without discrimination, no right-minded individual or group can accuse the American government of religious persecution. Anyone does, can be the laughing stock of the civilized world. In the same token, nobody should foolishly accuse Armenia’s current Pashinyan administration for “attacking the Armenian Church,” when Armenian law enforcement authorities are clearly carrying out their duties in service of law and order.
In the last couple of days, a number of Karekin II puppets and fellow clansmen from various dioceses in Armenia, Canada, France have gone on a witch-hunt against Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Alen Simonyan just because Mr. Simonyan had the courage and integrity to uphold the Rule of Law.
These corrupt Karekin II mouthpieces are misconstruing Mr. Simonyan’s righteous and healthy criticism of Karekin II as an “attack against the Armenian Church.” These elements are integral parts of an international crime cartel co-led Catholicos Karekin II (Armenia), Arch. Hovnan Derderian (Western U.S.) and Arch. Yezras Nersisyan (Moscow, Russia) perpetuating widespread corruption and nepotism in post-Soviet-era Armenian Church.
Many agree that “Mr. Simonyan is right on the mark for saying that the will of the people must be respected.” Reportedly over 89% of Armenians in Armenia and Diaspora reject Karekin II and his clansmen and demand the clan’s “Mafiosi” leader Karekin II’s resignation
The clansmen of Karekin II must be reminded that post-Velvet Revolution Armenia under Prime Minister Pashinyan is NOT ‘a banana republic.’ Armenia is a functioning and vibrant democracy heading – and for that matter galloping toward the 22nd century and beyond! Now instead of taking steps backward into the Middle Ages, Armenian Church in Armenia and former Soviet space should re-institute a church by-laws similar to Armenian churches functioning in the free world namely, United States, Canada, and other democracies.
During the Soviet Communist regime from 1921-1991 Armenia and the Armenian Church lost their independence. Reeling under the Soviet KGB, Armenian Church faithfuls lost their laypeople’s rights as mandated by the church by-laws (Constitution).
Many readers of USA al May remember an article that this author wrote in 2018 titled “Is Arch. Derderian part of a big plan?”
For transparency and accountability, wouldn’t it be great if an outside reputable forensic accounting team performed a fraud audit of the Holy See?
Why do Armenian Church Reform, New Armenia-New Catholicos and Save Western Diocese from Derderian movements have fighting chance to succeed now more than ever?
It’s because heightened and constantly raising public awareness both in Armenia and Diaspora.
The 2018 Velvet Revolution that was in the works since couple decades succeeded primarily because of raised public awareness about festering corruption in Armenia’s succeeding governments. The success came when the People of Armenia joined forces with the powerful Armenian Diaspora that actively aligned itself behind the popular reform movement.
Since coming to power on a platform to eradicate corruption and nepotism, Pashinyan government may have been overwhelmed with the task at hand due to the magnitude of ongoing corruption. National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia (NSS-RA) under PM Pashinyan had so many other fish to fry, but remarkably they kept on widening their investigation into corrupt dealings.
The precursor to the current promising developments came in September 2019 in Los Angeles, when PM PASHINYAN MADE A BOLD PUBLIC STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN CHURCH CORRUPTION.
In response to a media inquiry by USA Armenian Magazine in Los Angeles, PM Pashinyan stated that “if corrupted Armenian Church clergymen attempt to weaken the Armenian State, they will be brought down to their knees.”
In Los Angeles, PM Pashinyan wisely underlined that “Through its parish-governance structure, Armenian Church should continue its course. … But if the Church (the People) feels the necessity of the (Armenian) government’s assistance, then the government must step in.”
Now that the anti-Armenian Church Soviet despotic regime is gone, free and independent Armenian State should move to protect its citizens – faithful members of the Armenian Church to execute their will in pursuing the resignation of Karekin II, Arch. Kchoyan and other fellow clansmen.