Anti-Corruption National Initiative
ANTI-CORRUPTIONNATIONALINITIATIVE

The Murky Story of “Balkan PET Company”

​One of the murky episodes in the history of the Arsenyan family’s business is the establishment of the “Balkan PET Company” in Bulgaria, which existed for less than two years, was officially dissolved, but seven years later continued to appear in Vagahn Arsenyan’s property declaration as an active asset.

​According to a “Hetq” investigation, in October 2016 Sedrak Arustamyan, who was acting on behalf of Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, signed an agreement with Vagahn Arsenyan.

​At the end of the same month, the partners registered the “Balkan PET Company” in Bulgaria. It was registered at the address of the mineral water factory acquired by Gagik Tsarukyan in Sofia, had the minimum statutory capital, and Arsen Ohanjanyan, head of the foreign trade department of “Jermuk Group,” was appointed its director.

​The company existed for about a year and a half. In May 2018, Radostina Kirilova Nikolova was appointed liquidator, after which the procedure for terminating its activities began. According to data from Bulgarian state registers, the company was officially dissolved on December 14, 2018.

​Despite this, “Balkan PET Company” continues to appear in Vagahn Arsenyan’s 2025 property declaration as an active asset, creating an apparent discrepancy between the data in the official Bulgarian registers and the declared information.

​The emergence of two companies in Armenia and Bulgaria with almost identical names has itself also attracted the attention of investigative journalists.

​Similar corporate structures can be used to organize foreign trade operations, purchase raw materials and equipment within the European Union, as well as optimize logistics and the tax burden. Having its own legal entity in an EU country allows a manufacturer to directly purchase PET preforms, polymers, equipment, and other materials without intermediaries.

​In addition, such companies can potentially be used in transfer pricing schemes, when supplies between related entities are carried out at internal prices, while the main profit is concentrated under another jurisdiction. At the same time, the “Hetq” investigation does not claim that “Balkan PET Company” was used in precisely such a scheme.

All publications

Hetq: The 300,000-Dram “Opel” Leased for 1.99 Million Drams a Year: An Intriguing State Procurement Story Involving the Brother of Civil Contract MP Karen Hambardzumyan

In the picture on the left is Karen Hambardzumyan, a former Prosperous Armenia Party member, now a Civil Contract member, formerly Governor of Syunik Province and currently a Civil Contract MP. In the picture on the right is his brother, Tigran Hambardzumyan. In 2025, the latter purchased a 1998 Opel vehicle for 300,000 drams and leased it to the “Sisian Territorial Pedagogical-Psychological Support Center” SNCO for 1,990,000 drams per year.

Read more

The Tsaghkadzor Sports Complex in the Hands of the Zakaryan Family: Hetq’s Investigation

Hetq’s investigation reconstructs the path by which Tsaghkadzor’s main sports complex passed from the state into the hands of Ishkhan Zakaryan’s family.

Read more

“You for Us, Us for You”: Is the State Budget the Ruling Party’s Pocket?

While ordinary citizens are under a heavy tax burden, and many businesses struggle to survive under conditions of market competition, the government has opened the “doors” of the state budget for the “chosen.” An investigation by Infocom.am reveals one of the darkest corners of Armenia’s political-business system: businesses exempted from customs duties express their “gratitude” to the ruling “Civil Contract” (CP) party and the “My Step” Foundation headed by the Prime Minister’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, in the form of multi-million-dram donations.

Read more

The Overthrow of the Constitutional Order in Armenia: How Pashinyan’s Government Usurped the Judicial and Legislative Branches

The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia places the principle of separation and balancing of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches at the foundation of the exercise of state power. Article 5 of the Constitution formulates the structure of government in precisely these terms, while Article 162 establishes that justice is administered only by courts, and any interference in the administration of justice is prohibited.

Read more

“Just Business?” Narek Nalbandyan’s Interview Raises New Questions

Nalbandyan has tried to present the expansion of his business as the result exclusively of economic calculations—bank financing, investments, acquisition of troubled assets, auctions, and market risk. He has denied the existence of any personal, family, or business ties with Nikol Pashinyan and his family. However, when the conversation reaches the most sensitive questions—the purchase price of HrazdanCement, the course of the auctions, former employees’ unpaid wages, and possible ties with the authorities—the same pattern can be observed in the answers: a specific question is followed by a general formulation, while the essence of the issue is shifted into the realm of documents, procedures, or general economic logic.

Read more

Contact information

For inquiries regarding collaboration or information about the organization’s activities, please use the contact details provided.

Contact form