Special Investigation Service of Armenia has initiated a criminal case against Mihran Poghosyan, the ex-head of Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service of Armenia (JACES) on the basis of Article 310 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (Illegal participation in entrepreneurial activity. Participation of a state official, despite the legal ban, in the founding, management of an entrepreneurial organization, personally or through proxy, when these actions involve granting this organization privileges and advantages, is punished with deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or practice certain activities for up to 5 years, and a fine in the amount of 200 to 400 minimal salaries, or with arrest for the term of 1-3 months, or with imprisonment for the term of up to 2 years).
To recall, Mihran Poghosyan, owner of three offshore companies and head of the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service of Armenia (JACES), resigned on April 18, promising to publicly touch upon the offshore scandal as an ordinary citizen. The JACES press office has told ArmInfo that when explaining his resignation, Poghosyan said that in the light of the Panama offshore scandals, the Armenian and international media reports also mention his name, which causes comparisons between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Unfortunately, my name is mentioned along with Azeri president Ilham Aliyev's family, which has misappropriated billions of dollars. It is unacceptable that my personality causes parallels between our country and autocratic Azerbaijan. So, I am sending in my resignation," he said.
To note, on April 3, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published the findings of a survey that investigated the global offshore network and featured nearly 11.5 million documents. The documents reveal the scales of "shadow economy" involving the leading world politicians and businessmen. According to these documents, Mihran Poghosyan is the shareholder of three companies registered in Panama: Sigtem Real Estates Incorporated, Hopkinten Trading Incorporated, BANGIO INVEST S.A. So, Poghosyan conducts business through the companies registered in Panama and conceals the income.