Second president of Armenia owns a stake in AFK Sistema

ArmInfo.  The Mars plant and the Yerevan Institute of Mathematical Machines have never been owned by the Russian company Sitronics Group; they are owned by  the Russian government, as stated by the second president of the  Republic of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, at a press conference on  January 29.

According to him, the assets of the Armenian enterprises are managed  by the Russian State Property Committee, which, in turn, had  previously transferred them to the management of Sitronics Group, a  subsidiary of AFK Sistema, until 2023. In 2023, AFK Sistema left  Armenia due to the expiration of its contract. This company also  owned VivaCell in Armenia. Now, as the former president noted,  Roskomumushchestvo has once again appealed to AFK Sistema to reassume  management of the two Armenian assets.

Recall, the second president of the Republic of Armenia previously  served on the Board of Directors of AFK Sistema. In this regard, he  noted that he will no longer serve on the Board as of 2021. However,  Robert Kocharyan does own shares in this company, as evidenced by the  income declaration submitted by the second president of the Republic  of Armenia. During his 12 years as an independent director of AFK  Sistema, the former president received part of his salary in cash and  the other part in shares. However, as the former president noted, the  total number of shares is insignificant - only 0.06%.

Recall, ArmInfo previously reported that the leading Russian company  Sitronics Group had assumed control of the Yerevan Research Institute  of Mathematical Machines (ERIMM). The transaction took place on  January 19 of this year. The institute itself has not provided any  comments on the transfer to Sitronics.  The relevant Armenian  ministries and agencies have also refrained from commenting on the  change  in management of the Institute to a large Russian holding  company.

The specifics, details, and price of the YRIMM transaction under  Sitronics' control are currently unclear.  The share capital of the  state-owned YRIMM is 67,780,000 drams (approximately $178,300).  According to the latest data for 2022, Sitronics Group's revenue  exceeded 37.5 billion rubles. YRIMM, known as Armenia's Soviet  "Silicon Valley," was founded in 1956 by a distinguished Soviet  scientist Sergei Mergelyan. Over the years, the institute has  accumulated extensive experience in the design and production of  computer technologies and systems, remaining a center of innovation  and technological progress.  YRIMM is one of the key pillars of  Armenia's scientific and technological development. Today, the  Institute primarily works on highly complex cryptographic devices  that ensure the protection of confidential communications and data  security. According to experts, it is this area of Mergelyan  Institute's work that has attracted significant interest from Russian  investors, particularly Sitronics Group, a multidisciplinary Russian  IT company with extensive experience in digitalizing strategic  economic sectors and implementing large-scale projects for businesses  and the government. Sitronics Group is a key integrator and provider  of communications and video surveillance solutions. The company  implements projects to digitalize infrastructure facilities for  government customers and modernizes operator communications networks  using equipment from leading domestic manufacturers, including  equipment for backbone networks based on DWDM technology.