'Bulgarian companies and real estate owned by Armenian officials and relatives'

The Global Financial Integrity Initiative (Global Financial Integrity), a non-profit research and consulting organization based in Washington, D.C., conducted a study of financial flows from Armenia to developing countries. The study found that between 2004 and 2013, $9.8 billion was illegally withdrawn from Armenia. In the same period, Armenia's external debt increased from 1.2 billion to 3.8 billion dollars, and according to official forecasts, this figure will reach 5.4 billion dollars by the end of this year.

The funds withdrawn from Armenia appear in other countries in the form of business investments, real estate purchases, bank transfers and other mechanisms. The organization says it does not claim that''The facts presented below are examples of illicit financial flows, but they show that Armenian officials and their relatives have profited in different countries.

Bulgaria

One such case is Bulgaria. In recent years, several Armenian officials and their relatives have purchased real estate in Bulgaria. Some of them have also established their own businesses in the country. According to Bulgarian law, foreigners who are not citizens of the country or citizens of the European Union must register with Bulstat (a unified national administrative register run by the Registration Agency in the Ministry of Justice).

Besides Tsarukyan, other Armenian officials, such as MP Khosrov Harutyan and his son Robert, as well as President Serzh Sargsyan's son Narek Sargsyan, also own property in Bulgaria.

In addition, it has been revealed that numerous Armenian citizens have purchased real estate in Bulgaria. The question of the reason for these investments''remains open, but it is assumed that Bulgaria, being a part of the European Union, provides favorable conditions for investments, which attracts Armenian entrepreneurs.