“Hetq”: Sasun Khachatryan Acquired Tree-Covered Municipal Land for 4 Million Drams and Is Building a Structure There

Former chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee Sasun Khachatryan, in 2013, while serving as prosecutor of the Arabkir and Kanaker-Zeytun administrative districts, acquired a 184-square-meter plot of land from the Yerevan Municipality at auction, paying 4 million 69 thousand drams. According to satellite images examined by Hetq, the area was covered with trees at the time of the sale. Now, a public-purpose building is being constructed on that plot at the beginning of Davit Anhaght Street, near the Lambada Bridge.

Two people participated in the auction: Sasun Khachatryan and Yerevan resident Gagik Hovsepyan. Khachatryan was declared the winner. The price per square meter amounted to around 22 thousand drams. The decision to alienate the land stipulated that a public facility be built on the plot.

According to Hetq’s publication, satellite images from Google Earth Pro show that the area was densely covered with trees as far back as 2004–2005. The same picture is visible in images from April 2013 and remains unchanged until 2024. These data raise questions about how the condition of the plot was assessed at the time of the sale and whether the preservation of the green space was taken into account when the decision was made.

Narek Barseghyan, head of the Architecture and Urban Development Department of Yerevan Municipality, told Hetq that the department does not have the documents from the 2013 auction and therefore cannot confirm or deny that the area was green at the time. Thus, the municipality was unable to provide the auction documents that would have made it possible to obtain a complete picture of the circumstances surrounding the alienation of the plot.

Hetq sent written questions to Sasun Khachatryan to establish whether he had seen the tree-covered area before the auction, whether he had been concerned about the sale of the green zone, and whether construction could have been carried out without cutting down trees. Khachatryan did not respond to the questions sent on September 23.

According to the publication, construction began in 2025. A sign installed on the site identifies Sasun Khachatryan as the initiator. After leaving the position of chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee in November 2024, he established a law firm. The location of the building is convenient for legal practice: the Arabkir Court is about 500 meters away, the prosecutor’s office is 700 meters away, and the investigative department is 800 meters away.

Questions concerning the sale and development of the plot remain. Why was a tree-covered municipal area sold for development, and on the basis of what documents was construction authorized? The response provided by the municipality does not clarify the circumstances of the auction, while Sasun Khachatryan has not answered journalists’ questions.