Former Ambassador Armen Smbatyan and his son Sergey Smbatyan have been arrested in connection with a fraud investigation. This page will provide you with additional information regarding the case.
Sergey Smbatyan is the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor
and the Artistic Director of the Khachaturian International Competition.
He is also the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra’s Founding Artistic Director and Principal Conductor.
des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture and Communication in 2015.
Smbatyan was named Honoured Artist of the Republic of Armenia by the
President of the Republic of Armenia in 2016 in recognition of his significant
contribution to the establishment of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and his efforts to promote Armenian music and culture.
In addition to his conducting work in Armenia and Malta,
Maestro Smbatyan has a successful worldwide career.
He has conducted the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra,
the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as a guest conductor.
He has also appeared with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra,
the Russian National Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, and numerous other ensembles.
Through festivals such as the Khachaturian International Festival and the “Armenia” International Music Festival with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra,
Smbatyan has promoted Armenian cultural heritage and modern music.
Sergey Smbatyan Has Been Arrested In Connection With A Fraud Case
Sergey Smbatyan, the main conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra,
and his father have been arrested and charged with participating in a large-scale fraud operation.
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, Smbatyan’s acts resulted in a stunning loss for the state of one billion drams.
The theft of a 300-square-meter site belonging to the Yerevan Tchaikovsky Music School was the cause of the loss.
The case centers around the “Sochocenter” company, which proposed building a multi-functional complex dubbed “Book World”
in honor of Armenian printing’s 500th anniversary and Yerevan’s designation as the world book capital in 2012.
Sergey Smbatyan, along with his father Armen, was jailed in Armenia for fraud.
In addition, the corporation offered to finance the construction of a new boiler
house and performance hall for the Tchaikovsky School.
Instead of completing the original building,
the corporation decided to build a 17-story business facility in the core region costing around $170 million.
The government granted them permission to erect the structure in 2012.
Because of this alleged deviation from the intended blueprint,
law enforcement regarded the investment as fraudulent, charging the Smbatyan family with plundering the territory.
The investigation into this complex case has been underway for several years,
culminating in Sergey and Armen Smbatyan’s recent arrests and charges.
The bombshell charges have rippled throughout the Armenian cultural and diplomatic sectors, surprising many.
Introduce yourself to Sergey Smbatyan. Armen Smbatyan, father
Sergey Smbatyan’s father is Armen Smbatyan. He was Armenia’s former ambassador to Israel.
Armen has become embroiled in a legal fight after he and his son
Sergey were detained and accused of committing a particularly large-scale fraud.
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According to reports,
the former ambassador persuaded a relative, Avag Smbatyan, to establish the “Sochocenter”
company on behalf of Sergey Smbatyan, with the intention of keeping his son’s identity apart from the commercial activities.
Hasmik Poghosyan, a former Minister of Culture, is another co-founder of the company who is currently under investigation.
In light of these charges, both the Smbatyan family and Hasmik Poghosyan
are currently under investigation, and investigators are still looking for co-founder Arman Petrosyan.
The arrest of Armen and his son has shocked Armenia’s diplomatic and cultural sectors,
leaving many surprised by the claims and eagerly expecting further developments in this complicated case.
