Hayastan All Armenia Fund director Ara Vardanyan was arrested for embezzlement
YEREVAN—A week after Ara Vardanyan, the executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenia Fund was detained and charged with misappropriation of funds, he submitted his resignation, which President Armen Sarkissian has accepted.
Armenia’s National Security Service, last week, announced that Vardanyan had used the fund’s credit card for online gambling purposes. He told the NSS that he then used donor money to cover the credit card debt and returned all monies to the fund through a personal cash infusion.
According to the NSS, during the last week alone, Vardanyan used nearly 14 million drams ($29,000) from the Hayastan Fund credit card for online gambling. From 2016 to 2018 Vardanyan has reportedly misappropriated approximately 130 million drams (around $270,000) for personal use.
Vardanyan was released after posting 1 million drams in bail. However, according to sources in Yerevan, he returned to the Hayastan All-Armenia Fund offices and had access to all records until submitting his resignation Monday.
The news of Vardanyan’s arrest and the revelations about mishandling of funds sent shock waves across Armenia and the Diaspora.
The Armenia Fund, the Western United States affiliate of the Hayastan Fund, on Thursday issued an announcement in response to revelations emanating from Vardanyan’s arrest.
“All of us are deeply saddened by the arrest of Ara Vardanyan, the Executive Director of the Yerevan-based Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, on allegations of abuse of authority by misusing the organization’s credit card for personal purposes, including online gaming. However, as it appears now, no donor funds have been affected and the misused funds have been fully recovered,â€
