President of Armenia recommends Hayastan Fund’s Board of Trustees to accept executive director’s resignation

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who also serves as president of the Board of Trustees of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, has addressed the fund’s board members yesterday recommending to accept executive director Ara Vardanyan’s resignation. Vardanyan had filed for resignation a day earlier.

Ara Vardanyan, the executive director of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, had been detained and later arrested by the national security service in suspicion of misappropriating the Fund’s finances. Vardanyan admitted to using the Fund’s credit card for personal goals, but also claims to have recovered all misappropriations through cash infusions.

The President’s Office said that Sarkissian also recommended that Petros Terzyan, chairman of the Hayastan Fund’s France branch and member of the Board of Trustees, to temporarily take over the executive leadership and then announce an open competition for the vacated position.

Terzyan is recommended to chair a commission for the tender. The commission’s composition will include representatives of the President, the PM and the President of Artsakh, as well as member of the Board of Trustees of the fund Albert Poghosyan.

Vardanyan has been released on bail but hasn’t been formally charged.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan