Employees of numerous companies owned by Gagik Tsarukyan have been organizing protests almost daily in recent days, demanding answers from law enforcement about when the seals will be removed from the enterprises so they can return to work and receive their salaries, which are urgently needed:
Today, employees of “Multi Tabak”, the 342nd largest company in Armenia according to last year's data, gathered in front of their workplace's closed doors. Although the company's affairs were not good even before the law enforcement's visit due to market issues, the workers reported that they had been receiving their salaries regularly and are now waiting for the June payments, while July is already almost halfway through.
“We are supposed to receive our June salaries... we haven’t received them, we understand that all accounts are under arrest, now we want to understand when this will be resolved because people are waiting, no one is looking for other jobs because we are not leaving, we have adapted to this enterprise,” said one of the protesters.
Senior laboratory technician Mariam Mkrtchyan lives on her salary and asks how much longer she should wait:
Armenouhi Yengoyan has been working for this company since its inception, earning between 180,000 and 200,000 drams. “We can’t live, how can we live...”:
Senior operator Lilit Davtyan shares the financial burden with her husband, but she has no main job. Now her salary of 150,000 drams is also in question. “We are also citizens of Armenia, we cannot be separated, that’s why we should not suffer either”:
The major companies owned by Gagik Tsarukyan's family, which are also among the largest taxpayers in Armenia, were sealed off on Monday. Law enforcement arrived at the companies almost simultaneously on Monday morning, and at the same time, they were also at Tsarukyan's residence, where the 70-year-old businessman, who did not resist, was thrown to the ground and later arrested on charges of fraud and money laundering:
This was preceded by direct threats from Prime Minister Pashinyan to imprison Tsarukyan and dispossess him:
What are law enforcement looking for in the companies
Why have law enforcement effectively put thousands of employees on forced leave, what are they looking for in the companies, is it not possible to conduct investigative actions without stopping work, as was done, for example, at the Ararat cement plant, which was restarted with government intervention:
On Monday, the Investigative Committee announced that searches were conducted at more than 70 addresses in connection with the investigation of large-scale fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion, with documents and items seized. Why has the work of major companies been suspended for 9 days already is unclear. The Investigative Committee urges to submit written requests:
Notices stuck to the doors by law enforcement reveal nothing. On the door of “Multi Tabak,” senior investigator Sahakyan wrote that a package was seized during the search, but what this package is was not specified in the notice:
Investigator Vazgen Badalyan, who sealed off the company “Multi Stone,” also signed a notice about the punishment for obstructing the work of the investigative bodies, but what specific investigative actions are being conducted, when they will end, and when several dozen employees will be able to return to work, remains unclear:
Employees of the stone processing plant were also outside today, demanding answers. They also have not yet received their June salaries:
Due to the actions of law enforcement, about 10,000 people working in Gagik Tsarukyan's companies have been effectively on forced leave for more than a week. Tsarukyan's lawyers report that they are seeking legal solutions to these issues but have not yet disclosed what steps they plan to take.
