Thursday, November 14 2013 19:53
Victims of housing fraud to hold a protest action
ArmInfo. A group of the victims of a housing fraud by Tonus Construction LLC and Artsakh Bank are planning a protest action in front of the bank's Nairi Branch in the center of Yerevan on Saturday morning.
In 2006 Tonus Construction made a deal with almost 700 people to build for them apartment houses in Yerevan's Davidashen and Arabkir community by 2008 but kept exceeding deadlines until the owners learned that their houses were given to Artsakh Bank as a security for a $6mln loan and later arrested by the bank because of the borrower's inability to repay the money.
As a result, those people have lost their ownership rights to the houses and are not allowed even to approach them, while the owner of Tonus Construction, former MP from Prosperous Armenia Party Ashot Tonoyan says that he cannot help them as he is bankrupt.
On Thursday a group of the cheated owners gathered in front of Artsakh Bank's Nairi Branch to claim their apartments back.
One of them told ArmInfo that the bank is ready to give their houses back if they add $300 per sq m to the $600 they have already paid to Tonus Construction. The people are ready to add $50 but not $300 as for $900 per sq m they might have as well bought apartments much closer to the center.
Earlier the press service of Artsakh Bank said that they were not aware that the apartments were sold. Nor did they know that the buyers had already paid money for the houses - for in its pledge agreement with the bank Tonus Construction said nothing about those people.
But the owners claim that the bank was aware as it was though them that they made their payments for the flats.
ArmInfo called Nairit Branch but their employee refused to comment on the situation saying that he could do it only given the consent of his managers.