Friday, May 24 2013 20:54
President of Armenia and Chairman of National Assembly promise to help victims of housing fraud of Tonus Construction and Artsakhbank
ArmInfo. The people that acquired flats in a new residential building of Tonus Construction Company in Davidashen community in Yerevan (near the house No 46) appealed to the Presidential Administration on May 24 with a letter to President Serzh Sargsyan and received a reply. In their letter to the president, the citizens mainly slammed Tonus Construction and Artsakhbank for housing fraud and asked the president to influence activity of the leaderships of the given companies and help them get the flats they had paid for.
"The president is informed of your problem and will personally give relevant charges to settle your problem," the Presidential Administration replied and assured the citizens that specific steps will be taken already next week.
The owners of the flats in the almost finished construction appealed also to the National Assembly of Armenia, where they were told to write a letter to Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, who will raise the issue at the next session of the parliament.
The deceived owners told media that they made contracts with Tonus Construction yet in 2006. Under the contract, the development company was to finish construction and put the new building into exploitation in 2008. The contracts had been repeatedly extended for various reasons. The construction is over by 80% and the owners can settle in it, but they are not allowed to the new residential building with156 flats.
Just few months ago, the owners learnt that Tonus Construction mortgaged the building at Artsakhbank for a $6 million. The flats in the building had been sold to third parties long ago. The loan has not been redeemed and the building is under arrest, with the owners being deprived of tenure. In addition, the owner of Tonus Construction Company, former parliamentarian from Prosperous Armenia Party Ashot Tonoyan announced himself bankrupt and told the owners that Artsakhbank seized the building and he cannot help them. Tonoyan asked the deceived citizens not to apply to him with the given issue any more. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, Tonoyan collected funds from the 'investors' for interior design of flats a couple of months ago.
In the meanwhile, a few days ago, Artsdakhbank disseminated a statement in Mass Media that it was not informed of Tonus Construction Company's the preliminary purchase-and-sale contracts for the unfinished flats with the citizens. The developer made a credit agreement with Artsakhbank to get a loan for construction of the building and a pledge security contract with mortgaging of the unfinished construction. The company did not mention the claims by third persons in the contract.
"The bank could not be unaware that the flats are sold, because it advertised mortgage loans for purchase of the company's flats," the deceived citizens claim. They assure media that regular payment for the flats they made in nowhere but at Artsakhbank.
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