On February 22 Mediamax published the article “Amulsar, Investigative Committee, and ELARD: a story in 7 parts” which told that Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD), chosen to conduct the audit of the Amulsar gold mine, did not reply to our questions.

Mediamax contacted ELARD and the company’s Director for Environment in Lebanon Ricardo Khoury agreed to answer questions in written form, however, a little later Mr. Khoury wrote to say he could not proceed with the agreement without the consent of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

Special report | 2019-02-22 16:59:35

Amulsar, Investigative Committee, and ELARD: a story in 7 parts

Mediamax contacted the Investigative Committee on February 22 with the request to answer the following questions: 

1. Did the Investigative Committee set any restrictions for the communication between ELARD and the Armenian press?

2. If so, do these restrictions concern the inquiries about the experience and previous projects of ELARD?

3. Does ELARD perform as an independent company during the comprehensive investigation of the Amulsar mine operation?

On February 26 Deputy Chief of the Investigative Committee Administration Karen Hovhannisyan sent to Mediamax the following response:

“In response to your inquiry of 22.02.19, the Investigative Committee informs that ELARD is involved in the comprehensive study that is a part of the criminal case investigated by the General Department of the Investigation of PIC of the Investigative Committee. Therefore, the details and information about the case are considered the data of preliminary investigation and are not subject to disclosure without the consent of the investigating body. Given the mentioned circumstance of preliminary investigation, the investigating body will provide comments to any inquiry into the comprehensive study.

As for the projects ELARD has implemented previously, the Investigative Committee set a number of standards that the companies applying for the pre-qualification tender had to comply with, including previous projects and studies, and ELARD met all requirements.

ELARD is a well-known, accredited company that won the tender announced by the Investigative Committee. In the end of the comprehensive study, conducted as part of the investigation of the criminal case, ELARD will provide an assessment which will be reviewed by the investigating body in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.”

I believe that the response of the committee and the described procedure mean that ELARD does not act as an independent company (Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan often highlighted that the independence of the auditor was a necessity) for the following reasons:

- ELARD cannot communicate with the press and can’t provide information about the methodology of the audit;

- The press can learn about the company’s experience only from the Investigative committee;

- ELARD’s assessment will be released not by the company, but by the Investigative Committee. 

Ara Tadevosyan