BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 16. Ruben Vardanyan,
a fugitive Russian billionaire of Armenian origin, who recently
took over separatists in Karabakh, in one of his interviews, has
called on the US, the EU, and Russia to impose sanctions on
Azerbaijan for the alleged “blockade” and “humanitarian crisis”
that Azerbaijan “created” for the residents of Khankendi.
Meanwhile, the peaceful protest of Azerbaijanis on the
Lachin-Khankendi road against the illicit exploitation of
Azerbaijan’s mineral resources in the area of Russian peacekeepers’
temporary deployment has been going on for over a month. And over
this time, the road, which is basically the only way for the
residents of Khankendi to go back and forth to Armenia, has been
open to any humanitarian purposes needed.
And, nevertheless, countless proofs of dozens of cars of Russian
peacekeepers and Red Cross vehicles driving from Lachin to
Khankendi and back do not stop separatists from making up bizarre
stories about cruel Azerbaijanis mistreating “poor starving
Armenians”.
Moreover, Armenians keep falling into the same trap over and
over again. Deliberately distributing footage of staged empty
stalls in the markets and stores of Khankendi, they forget to
“clean up” their profiles on social networks, which prove anything
but them “starving”.
In one of his interviews, Vardanyan begged the international
community to force Azerbaijan to open an “air corridor” from
Khankendi to Armenia. Little does he know, that the same
international community, some 10 years ago, has already expressed
its opinion on this issue. The International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference
(ICAC) have supported the position of Azerbaijan on the Khankendi
airport to remain closed and, if any provocations happen, all legal
measures, including physical elimination, would be taken against
any aircraft flying to Khankendi without Baku’s permission.
The most interesting thing is that a person with such a
reputation as Vardanyan, should not make such bold, statements
about sanctions against the whole country. Back in 2019, more than
twenty members of the European Parliament demanded sanctions
against him for an alleged conspiracy to launder money from Russia
through offshore companies and transfer abroad.
Moreover, Ukraine has also sanctioned Vardanyan for his company
providing logistic support to the Russian army.
At the same time, a number of foreign governments became
interested in Vardanyan’s business in Karabakh. In particular,
authorities in EU countries are interested in where the proceeds
from the sale of illegally mined metals go.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has
published an extensive investigation into his illegal operations.
Apparently, he has been laundering money of Russian oligarchs to
the West. According to OCCRP, from 2006-2013, more than $4.5
billion passed through various accounts. During this time, about $9
billion was laundered and withdrawn from Russia.
At that time, journalists had about 60,000 financial documents
in their hands, which “leaked” from the Lithuanian Ukio bank, which
was closed in 2013. The study of these documents has shed light on
numerous schemes and financial ploys. Thus, the network created by
“Troika Dialog” included at least 75 interconnected offshore firms,
some of which opened accounts with Ukio. The “directors” of many of
these firms turned out to be ordinary seasonal workers from
Armenia. The authors of the investigation found one of them in
Vanadzor. The signature of 34-year-old Armen Ustyan, who lives in
extreme poverty, is on the financial documents of one of Troika’s
offshore companies for $50 million. The authors of the
investigation found several citizens of Armenia, whose passport
data ended up in the hands of the organizers of the laundromat, and
their signatures were simply falsified.
In 2022, Vardanyan escaped Western sanctions by demonstratively
renouncing Russian citizenship and moving to Karabakh. Still, both
Vardanyan, and the entire Armenian community, continue to convey
their pleas for some kind of sanctions against Azerbaijan.
Vardanyan’s criminal business activities both in Azerbaijan and
beyond should be closely investigated by the international legal
forces and law enforcement agencies. Moreover, sanctions should be
applied to him.
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