Taxpayer Money Used to Fly Top Armenian Officials on Planes Owned by Family of Ruling Party MP
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan visited Georgia and Kazakhstan in late March. They were transported by a business class plane (business jet).
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan visited Georgia and Kazakhstan in late March. They were transported by a business class plane (business jet) of an airline owned by the family of businessman MP and member of the ruling Civil Contract faction Khachatur Sukiasyan.
To fly Grigoryan’s delegation to Kazakhstan and back, the Sukiasyans’ Flyone Armenia LLC received AMD 28.6 million (US$77,000) from Armenia’s state budget (including taxes). The presidential staff does not say how much the airline earned for transporting Khachaturyan to Georgia and back.
Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan, not by state, but by private plane
On March 22, Khachaturyan’s delegation flew from Yerevan to Tbilisi on a working visit to participate in the funeral ceremony of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilya II.
In the photos distributed by the presidential official website, we see that Khachaturyan was accompanied by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan and Armenia’s Ambassador to Georgia Ashot Smbatyan. In addition to participating in the funeral, Khachaturyan had a private meeting with the Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili in Tbilisi.
High-ranking Armenian officials, like the president and prime minister, are served by Armenian government aircraft – the VIP Airbus A319 ACJ type aircraft. This plane, manufactured in 1998, is the property of the Republic of Armenia and has operated in Armenia since 2007.
Government aircraft flights that serve the prime minister are currently numbered FIE4001, in the case of the president - FIE4002, and for other officials (e.g., the parliament speaker, the foreign affairs minister) - FIE4003 (FIE is the code of Flyone Armenia, which has operated the state aircraft since September 2023, and the number identifies the official who is the beneficiary of the flight).
Government Airbus A319 in Frankfurt, 20.02.2026, by Jens Brokuf, jetphotos.com
On March 22, when the president was supposed to leave for Tbilisi, the Airbus A319, according to online flight tracking platforms, was not involved in any other official flights (FIE4001 or FIE4003). As to why Khachaturyan did not fly on a government plane is unclear.
Instead, the president flew in a Gulfstream G450 business jet, owned by Flyone Armenia LLC. The plane took off from Yerevan at 9:06 am on March 22 and landed in Tbilisi thirty minutes later.
Khachaturyan and his entourage returned the same evening. The return flight took thirty-two minutes.
The flight history of the G450 on Flightradar24.com suggests that it is mainly based at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport. However, it is worth noting that the aircraft is registered not in Armenia, but in Romania as YR-SIL (YR is the registration prefix of Romania, and SIL is the name of the Sukiasyan family’s SIL Capital company, which was a shareholder in Flyone Armenia from 2022 to 2025). The aircraft is operated by Flyone Armenia’s Romanian sister company, FlyOne Romania. Both are part of the Moldovan Fly One airline network.
Sukiasyans' G450 in Tenerife, 4.19. 2025, by Mariano Rodriguez, jetphotos.com
Free transportation or state purchase from former partners
50% of Flyone Armenia belongs to Eduard Sukiasyan, one of the brothers of Civil Contract MP Khachatur Sukiasyan, 4% to the company's general director Aram Khachatryan, and the remaining 46% to the Moldovan Fly One airline.
Second from left: Eduard Sukiasyan, fourth: Aram Khachatryan, facebook.com
Khachatur, Saribek and Eduard Sukiasyan own the controlling stake, 51.45%, in Armeconombank OJSC. Vahagn Khachaturyan, who was elected president by the National Assembly in 2022, was an independent member of the board of Armeconombank OJSC between 2019 and 2021. Moreover, the head of the air carrier, Aram Khachatryan, is a member of bank’s board, and the bank’s board chairman is Saribek Sukiasyan.
Thus, Armenia’s president flew in a plane that belongs to a large local business family. Khachaturyan is also a former partner of the Sukiasyan family in the banking business. How did this happen?
Two possibilities are likely.
The first is to transport the president for free or provide him with a free service, given Khachaturyan’s connection to the Sukiasyans.
However, in this case we encounter a legal obstacle, since the Armenia’s Law On Public Service prohibits persons holding public office, including the president of the country, from accepting gifts in connection with the performance of their official (service) duties. The term "gift" refers to any property-related benefit, which can include free services, services offered at an unusually low price, or other actions that provide someone with an advantage. Such benefits are considered gifts if they are given conditionally based on the recipient's position.
The second option is to make a state purchase, that is, Khachaturyan’s staff purchased a transportation service at the expense of the state budget, which was provided by the Sukiasyans’ plane. But by what procedure was the purchase made? If the "one person" (without a tender) procedure was chosen, then what was the legislative basis, and why was Flyone Armenia or FlyOne Romania chosen? It’s not clear which of these companies the contract was signed with, if, of course, a state procurement was conducted.
YR-SIL cabin
The fact that the president used the Sukiasyans’ business jet (regardless of whether it was free or for a fee) raises the question of whether there is a conflict of interest here.
According to the Law On Public Service, individuals serving in public office are required to prevent situations where a conflict of interest may arise, and must not act, refrain from acting, or make decisions under such circumstances.
A conflict of interest is when the private interests of a person holding office (in this case Vahagn Khachaturyan) impact or may impact the impartial and objective performance of his/her official duties. Private interest refers to any advantage or privilege, especially for individuals (in this context, the Sukiasyans) or organizations with whom the official person has business, political, practical, or personal connections.
Thus, if the transportation was free, then, in fact, we are dealing not only with a violation of the legislative prohibition on accepting gifts, but also with a conflict of interest, since such a gift must impact the impartial and objective performance of the president’s official duties. If a fee was paid for the transportation, from the perspective of a conflict of interest, the question arises as to why Flyone Armenia (or FlyOne Romania) was chosen and whether Vahagn Khachaturyan’s personal and previous business connection with the Sukiasyans influenced that choice.
Hetq asked President Khachaturyan if there was a conflict of interest in using a plane owned by the Sukiasyans' airline as an Armenian official.
We wanted to know why he did not fly on Armenia’s government plane. Also, did the G450 provide the transportation service free of charge or for a fee, and if there was a fee, then was there a state procurement and from whom - Flyone Armenia or FlyOne Romania? In addition, what was the procedure for the procurement? (One assumes it was through the "one person" procedure - ed.). If this was the case, what was the legal basis for the decision, and why was Flyone Armenia, either directly or indirectly through FlyOne Romania, selected given its association with the Sukiasyan family? Hetq inquired about the cost of the transportation service contract.
How high-ranking officials are shielded from journalists' questions?
In response to a request from Hetq, the Presidential Office’s Public Relations Department stated that, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Procurement, the expenses for the accommodation, food, transportation, and transportation expenses of the President of the Republic of Armenia are included in the procurement plan containing state secrets. Based on this, the office refused to answer Hetq’s questions.
The Law on Procurement states: “The procurement plan containing state secrets includes the goods, works, and services necessary for the provision of ceremonial expenses, accommodation, food, and transportation services… of officials (including the President of the Republic of Armenia - ed.) as provided for in Part 2 of Article 5 of the Law on Ensuring the Security of Persons Subject to Special State Protection”.
YR-SIL cabin
Our experience shows that this provision of the law, adopted in December 2016, has become a way to shield high-ranking officials and their staff from unwanted questions from journalists. In this regard, current officials are effectively copying the experience of their predecessors.
In 2018, Hetq wrote that a Gulfstream G650 business jet belonging to businessman Samvel Karapetyan transported then Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan’s delegation to Zurich in January of that year to participate in the Davos World Economic Forum. The government informed the press that no money was allocated from the state budget for the lease of the aircraft. Given that Samvel Karapetyan is a friend of PM Karen Karapetyan (2016-2018), we had expressed doubts that the flight was conducted for free (that is, Karen Karapetyan did not pay from his own pocket either). But in that case, the option of violating the Law on Public Service arose, since a public servant is prohibited from receiving services from other people in connection with his official duties.
The government did not answer our questions, that is, they did not deny the fact of conflict of interest and violation of the law. They also did not say whether PM Karapetyan paid for the service from his own pocket, confirming our suspicion that the plane served his delegation for free.
Then, thanks to a tip from one of our readers, we found out that Samvel Karapetyan’s business jet had transported then President Serzh Sargsyan to Tehran in July 2017 to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected president of Iran.
When Hetq asked Serzh Sargsyan’s staff whether the state budget had paid for the air transportation service, we received the same answer as Vahagn Khachaturyan’s staff.
Although the staffs of the former and current presidents referred to the Law on Procurement, which suggests that the transportation service was purchased and not provided to officials for free, in reality, we cannot be sure and assert that this is exactly what happened, first of all given relations between Serzh Sargsyan and Samvel Karapetyan, and those between Vahagn Khachaturyan and the Sukiasyans.
When presidential staff cite state secrets as a legal shield and avoid addressing potential conflicts of interest, it increases suspicions that such a conflict exists.
Applying the law based on discretion and politics
Our experience shows that citing the Law On Procurement allows discretion in withholding information about private business jet use, depending on the political situation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has taken similar actions; details are available at the link below.
$77,000 for flying Mher Grigoryan's delegation
On March 18, Armenian PM Pashinyan decided to send a delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan to Kazakhstan (Shymkent). It included Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan, Armenian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Armen Ghevondyan, Deputy Economy Minister Narek Hovakimyan, Deputy Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rafael Gevorgyan, Grigoryan’s advisor, and the protocol officer.
Pashinyan instructed his chief of staff Arayik Harutyunyan to organize a flight on March 26 (Yerevan-Shymkent) and the return flight on March 27.
On March 26-27, as on March 22 presidential flight, the Armenian government’s Airbus A319 was not used for flights. Grigoryan's delegation traveled to Kazakhstan and returned via the Sukiasyans' Gulfstream G450.
March 26, 2026: Grigoryan's delegation arrives in Shymkent. In the background: YR-SIL (gov.am)
Since the deputy prime minister is not an official subject to state protection, and the above-mentioned provision of the Law On Procurement on state secrets does not apply to him, Hetq sent a request to Arayik Harutyunyan, head of the prime minister's staff, similar to the one we sent to the president’s staff, expecting a proper response. Armen Khachatryan, who heads the staff’s Information and Public Relations Department, did not answer the following questions:
- Why didn’t Armenia’s delegation use the government plane, or why were plane tickets not purchased from airlines performing regular passenger transportation?
- Before signing the contract, was a price comparison made between the service provided by the business jet and the ticket prices of airlines performing regular passenger transportation?
- If the purchase was made through the “one person” procedure, what was its legal justification? Even if such justification existed, why was the contract signed with a company that is directly (Flyone Armenia) or indirectly (FlyOne Romania) related to the family of a member of the country’s ruling parliamentary faction?
Pashinyan’s office reported that the payments stipulated in the contract were made under the “expenses for foreign business trips,” within the framework of which the expenses are not entered into the armeps.am state procurement platform. However, we were sent the contract signed on March 24 between the Prime Minister’s Office and Flyone Armenia LLC.
The Sukiasyans’ company undertook to transport seven people from Yerevan to Shymkent in a business-class Gulfstream G450, and from there to Yerevan.
The contract included airport service, catering, VIP service, aircraft operation services, including crew, fuel, maintenance, air navigation, and airport fees. The contract price was 28,600,000 drams (including taxes and fees), which is approximately $77,000 at the current Central Bank exchange rate.
Questions remain unanswered as to why the Deputy PM Grigoryan’s delegation did not depart with a “regular” airline(s). There is no direct flight between Yerevan and Shymkent, but logically the transportation could have been organized by connecting flights. That is why we asked Arayik Harutyunyan whether a price comparison was conducted. The absence of an answer prompts questions about why Flyone Armenia, owned by Khachatur Sukiasyan’s family, was selected.
Top Photo: Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, President Vahagn. Khachaturyan, businessman Eduard Sukiasyan. The G450 aircraft in the background. (collage by the author)
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