The case of businesswoman Silva Hambartsumyan has a potential of becoming a crowbar that will undermine the current oligarchic system in Armenia and especially the oligarchy in the mining sector.

Hambartsumyan, who until recently wasn’t much of a public figure, owns large businesses both in the mining industry, imports and baking. She has become a rare large businessperson who is trying to solve her business-related problems using publicity as a powerful weapon. Until now, such problems have mostly been solved behind the scenes.

On November 10, Hambartsumyan called a press conference and made a series of sensational accusations. She accused the governor of Syunik of forcibly taking her gold mine and stealing expensive equipment and accused Samvel Alexanyan, a sugar import monopolist, of getting excessive profits by increasing sugar prices twofold and also claimed that bread in Armenia could be solved at half the price it is sold for at present.

After that, on November 13, Syunik governor Surik Khachatryan reportedly saw Habmartsumyan at the lobby of the Marriott hotel in Yerevan and beat her using his fists, a claim later denied by Khachatryan.

Hambartsumyan this time again decided to resort to public defense and reported the incident. Until now such “disputes” would not become part of a public discourse and would be resolved between the parties immediately involved in them.

But the most interesting thing is that the Special Investigation Service of Armenia has actually opened a criminal investigation against governor Khachatryan on suspicion that he may have beaten Hambartsumyan. Prosecutors are also investigating her claim regarding the theft of expensive equipment at the gold mine in Syunik.

Hambartsumyan, in fact, has accused the Government of the absence of a level playing field for businesses, of protecting public officials who openly do business and encouraging arbitrary prices and impunity in the market.

She told about how she purchased the gold mines. The license to operate the Lichkvaz-Tey and Terterasar gold deposits in the Meghri region was issued in 1999 to the Sipan-1 company.

In 2005, Sipan-1LTD was purchased by one Australian company. Later, 86.21 percent of the shares of this Australian company was purchased by another Australian company. And in September 2008 that Australian company decided not to deploy additional resources in Armenia. The Australians said that the gold reserves were less than they had expected. After some time, Hambartsumyan purchased Sipan-1.

“The Australians ran away because they were very much frightened by the governor of Syunik Suren Khachatryan, who said to them: you should leave it and go, as this deposit should become mine. And they got frightened and sold everything,” said the businesswoman, adding that the Syunik governor stole equipment worth a total of $102 million drams (about $ 270,000) from Lichkvaz-Tey and that this equipment is now at the Gehvadzor deposit that belongs to Khachatryan.

Hambartsumyan says that despite the lawlessness that exists in her respect she will continue to invest not only in the mining sector, but also in the food industry. Until December 20 a large bakery will be opened in the Avan district of Yerevan. After that the businesswoman intends to lower bread prices by 30 percent.

Now some in the Armenian public are eager to see how the investigation on claims against the controversial Syunik governor will unfold.