In his homeland (in Nagorno-Karabakh), a social activist, businessman, journalist and philosopher Levon Hayrapetyan was considered almost a national hero. It was he who helped his compatriots with employment, creating a modern woodworking enterprise. It was he who defended the interests of his people when it came to the enslavement of Armenians by the forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was he who tried to convince representatives of world politics that Nagorno-Karabakh was ready to become a subject of international law. It was he who restored the destroyed churches and temples in his homeland.
Levon Hayrapetyan has long established itself as a successful entrepreneur and an authoritative public figure. However, the media found dark spots in his seemingly ideal biography. We are talking, in particular, about the history of the sale of Bashneft's securities, as a result of which the commodity company has become uncontrollable for the state. Law enforcement authorities suspected an Armenian businessman of embezzlement of a large sum of money from the mother of Bashkir deputy Igor Izmestiev.
Is Levon Hayrapetyan, who had extensive acquaintances in the business community and government structures, a dark horse?
Certified Philosopher
Hayrapetyan Levon Gurgenovich - a native of Vank (Martakert district, Nagorno-Karabakh). He was born in 1949. After receiving secondary education, young Levon went to Moscow to enter the university. The choice of a young man fell on the philosophical faculty of Moscow State University. Having successfully passed the entrance exams, Levon Hayrapetyan joined the ranks of students. In those years, he traveled around the country as an activist of the Komsomol organization. Moreover, the head of the construction team, the young man argued that he was not without entrepreneurial vein. He easily established business relations with local cooperatives.
Having received the coveted diploma, the young man decided to engage in journalism.
Start of work
Initially, Ayrapetyan Levon Gurgenovich, whose biography contains many interesting and noteworthy facts, worked as a full-time journalist in such periodicals notorious in the Soviet era as “Interlocutor”, “KP”, “Ogonyok”.
The young man quickly gained experience in the wisdom of the profession of a correspondent, and when the USSR collapsed in the early 90s, he became one of the founders of the Sobesednik publishing house. Moreover, some sources claim that such a career take-off was provided to him not only by professional and business qualities. There were rumors that it was not without the patronage of influential people from the highest echelons of power, whom he made acquaintances as a full-time journalist. But whether it was so in reality is not known for certain.
Business
It also remains a mystery what kind of entrepreneurial activity Hayrapetyan was able to make a huge financial fortune. Levon Gurgenovich from the field of journalism unexpectedly left for the super-profitable oil and gas sector.
And this segment of the biography of the Armenian businessman is fraught with many secrets. Even when Levon resigned from a managerial position in the Sobesednik Publishing House, he continued to provide financial assistance to his native newspaper. But where did he get the money? Rumor has it that Hayrapetyan began to engage in large business projects, and not without the assistance of influential representatives of the criminal world.
Levon Hayrapetyan became a co-founder of the social services fund, having mastered a huge amount of budget funds. On an equal footing, he also opened a billiard club for VIP clients. In addition, Levon helped create the first GM dealer in our country, received dividends from the activities of Uniastrum Bank as a shareholder. In parallel with this, he was engaged in the oil business. Naturally, in this field of activity, he was able to make a huge financial fortune and enter the top 10 most wealthy entrepreneurs of Armenian origin. Soon, Levon Gurgenovich changed housing for apartments in the President Hotel.
Patronage
One way or another, but the Armenian businessman, having gained financial prosperity, decided to demonstrate to everyone that he had not forgotten his homeland, and began to implement social projects in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Hayrapetyan began to deal with the solution of the demographic problem in the region, promising every couple who gave birth to as many children as possible a substantial monetary reward.
In addition, the businessman provided the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh with additional jobs by building a large wood processing plant, which began to produce the highest quality flooring in the region. Having established business and transferred control to relatives, the businessman moved to live in Monaco.
Criminal case
In 2014, Hayrapetyan Levon Gurgenovich, whose family lives in the United States, became a defendant in a criminal case. Russian detectives indicted him for having misappropriated other people's money, and then illegally laundered it. The corresponding testimony was given by the ex-deputy of the Republic of Bashkortostan Igor Izmestiev, who is serving a life sentence in one of the colonies.
A former servant of the people said that Hayrapetyan received financial rewards for intermediary services in the transaction on the disposal of AFK Sistema. Levon Gurgenovich, according to investigators, using a fraudulent scheme, sold shares of Bashneft. In addition, he took from her mother Izmestiev money in the amount of 700 thousand dollars, promising her that with the help of finances he would be able to mitigate the sentence to the former deputy of Bashkiria, but could not restrain his words.
Punishment
In the summer of 2014, Hayrapetyan Levon Gurgenovich was detained. The businessman was arrested in the capital's Domodedovo airport. The defendant in a criminal case flew to Russia from Nice.
Representatives of the power department met Hayrapetyan directly at the ramp and informed him of the arrest. Then the investigator interrogated Levon Gurgenovich, and a search was made in the room of the President Hotel, which the businessman rented.
Only in January 2016 the Zamoskvoretsky court of the capital began to consider the case on the merits. The accused denied any involvement in the commission of crimes, but his guilt was proved. In April 2016, Hayrapetyan was given a verdict - 4 years in prison. The businessman was escorted to Butyrka prison. In his cell, his health deteriorated sharply, and Levon Gurgenovich was sent to the medical unit of the correctional facility. In the summer of 2016, the lawyers of Levon Georgievich appealed the verdict against their principal, but as a result, he remained in force.