Successful or bankrupt businessman? Who is Tovmas Grigoryan?

The founding members of the Football Federation of Armenia will convene and elect a new Executive Committee and Chairman on December 23. Candidates for the chairman of the federation are well-known footballer Khoren Hovhannisyan, general secretary of the Football Federation Armen Melikbekyan and president of the Lori football club Tovmas Grigoryan, who was also the adviser to the former chairman of the Football Federation Arthur Vanetsyan.

Some media outlets have already begun to nominate Tovmas Grigoryan as the winning candidate for chairman of the Federation. On November 29, “Zhoghovurd” daily wrote that “according to its sources, apart from being a successful man both financially and in terms of  football, Grigoryan has good relations with various branches of government, besides being a.” On December 7, famous football commentator, founder of “Football Plus Magazine” Suren Baghdasaryan, while speaking about Tovmas Grigoryan at the program “Review” by 168am said, “You have to be a good manager, a good administrator to run the federation, you have to be a man of football, you have to be a financially well-established person. Tovmas Grigoryan is a businessman, and he has succeeded in whatever work he has undertaken.” However, claims about Grigoryan being a successful businessman are far from being true.

According to the judicial information system, the Lori Region Court of First Instance satisfied VTB-Armenia Bank’s application and declared Tovmas Grigoryan bankrupt on May 19, 2015,. Grigoryan’s outstanding liabilities exceeded $ 8 million. A ban was also imposed on his property. Grigoryan is the owner of “Talgrig” Company, and the loans were signed between Talgrig and the bank.

Grigoryan’s outstanding credit obligations exceeded $ 8 million. His property was also seized. Grigoryan is the owner of Talgrig, and the loans were signed between Talgrig and the bank.

Another court decision was made by Gegharkunik District Court of First Instance in 2012 by which $ 4,000 was to be confiscated from Tovmas Grigoryan’s relative Grigor Grigoryan and “Talgrig” Company in favor of Unibank for outstanding credit obligations.

Tovmas Grigoryan is the owner of two other companies: “Children’s Entertainment Center” and “Lena Tovmasyan” companies. These companies carried out construction on Khanjyan 20 street in 2012 during which 11 construction workers remained under the ruins of the collapsed building. Later, Yerevan municipality reported that construction was illegal.

The construction was in the vicinity of the “Jose” entertainment complex on Khanjyan Street, and the owner of “Jose” is Tovmas Grigoryan (“Jose” is advertised on the shirts of the Lori football club owned by him). Tovmas Grigoryan also owns California Hotel in Ajapnyak district of Yerevan. For many years he had also worked with former Chairman of the Football Federation Ruben Hayrapetyan, chairing the Finance Committee of the Federation. Grigoryan’s companies are not included in the list of 1000 largest taxpayers in Armenia.

 Mkrtich Karapetyan