The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund launched an international fundraising campaign immediately after the outbreak of the war on September 27, 2020. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians from around the world responded to its appeal for urgent aid to Karabakh, donating roughly $170 million within weeks.
The charity headquartered in Yerevan redirected more than $100 million of those proceeds to Armenia’s government. The Armenian Finance Ministry said the sum will finance the government’s “infrastructure, social and healthcare expenditures” necessitated by the six-week war.
President Armen Sarkissian and Armenian opposition leaders criticized the donation, saying that it undermined donors’ trust in Hayastan. Sarkissian said in December that the government should consider redefining the hefty contribution as a “loan” and eventually reimbursing the fund.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian defended the donation, saying that it was used for purposes defined by Hayastan’s statutes. He also suggested that lawmakers scrutinize the donation.
Earlier this month, the two opposition groups represented in the Armenian parliament demanded the creation of ad hoc commission tasked with doing that. The parliament’s pro-government majority gave the green light for such an inquiry.
The commission will be headed by Artsvik Minasian of the opposition Hayastan and comprise ten other deputies to be named by the parliamentary forces. Minasian promised an objective probe.
“Our main task is to determine whether there were abuses and illegalities, and if so, hold the guilty accountable, recover funds and, most importantly, restore the Armenian people’s trust in this instrument important for Armenia and Artsakh,” he said.
President Sarkissian, who heads Hayastan’s board of trustees, has also demanded an international audit of the fund’s activities. According to the fund’s executive director, Haykak Arshamian, the results of the audit will be presented to the board members next month.
Hayastan has implemented $400 million worth of various infrastructure projects in Karabakh and Armenia since its establishment in 1992.