The State Revenue Committee reported that Nareg Hartounian`s LLC caused about 109 mln AMD to the state.

Director of Naregatsi Art Institute Nareg Hartounian says that the tax evasion accusations against him have been fabricated by light-fingered officials who want to take his property away.

Hartounian, who was released on his own custody Dec 13, told journalists on Dec. 15 that he never evaded taxes; on the contrary, he paid them all in due time. "If fair investigation is conducted and if it is proved that we have some debts to the state, we will pay them" , he said.

For her part, Nareg Hartounian's lawyer Ani Torosyan pointed out that Nareg Hartounian was released under the public pressure, however, the State Revenue Committee disseminated rumors that Nareg Hartounian was released according to an arrangement to pay the taxes. She said that the case is not closed yet, investigation is being conducted to specify the real debts, and the case may possibly go to the pieces.

On Dec 10 night the court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash administrative districts of Yerevan chose a two-month arrest as a measure of restraint for Nareg Hartounian. Earlier the press service of the State Revenue Committee reported that Hartounian evaded big taxes of GH Storage Enterprises. For money laundering he purchased a house in Shushi, in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Hartounian is charged with deliberate tax evasion and attempted legalization of illegal revenues. Charges have been arraigned against Deputy Mnatsakanyan and Galstyan as well. The damage caused to the state amounted to about 109 mln AMD (about $287 thsd). The director of Naregatsi Art Institute Nareg Hartounian, the deputy director of Hartounian's GH Storage Enterprises Ani Mnatsakanyan and the chief accountant of the company Arthur Galstyan were released on their own custody on Dec. 13.

To note, the "Naregatsi" Art Institute, incorporated in 2002, is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving Armenia's existing cultural heritage through supporting Armenian contemporary artists and creating a forum in which the spirit of art and the common voice can resonate freely. By nurturing the expression of human creativity and documenting artistic accomplishments, "Naregatsi" Art Institute seeks to enrich the understanding and the exposure of Armenian art today, the ancestry from which this art has stemmed, and the future which creativity, social consciousness, and collaborative energy will lead to.

"Naregatsi" Art Institute Shushi branch was launched in September, 2006.The center is aimed to support the cultural awakening of the city which was destroyed and psychologically emaciated as a result of the war. It serves to be a link between artists and art lovers in the region, implementing educational programs designed for upbringing of the new generation with Armenian spirit as well as with the acknowledgement and appraisement of cultural and national values.