Karabakh Armenians to have debts forgiven in Armenia and pledged gold returned
Debts of Karabakh Armenians to be forgiven
The Armenian government has decided to waive the loans taken by refugees from the former unrecognised NKR (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) before resettlement to Armenia and return their pledged gold items. This concerns 1,800 permanent residents of Nagorno-Karabakh whose loans do not exceed 2.5 million drams (about $6,250).
There are also 20 individuals whose debts exceed this amount, stated finance minister Vahe Hovhannisyan. At the recommendation of prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, decisions regarding their loans will be made after examining their financial situation.
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The finance minister reminded that the financial obligations of “entities of Nagorno-Karabakh” (the government of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, its established funds, as well as enterprises and individuals) have been transferred to the Armenian government. This total includes the credit obligations of individuals pledged with gold items.
As of the end of December 2023, the total credit debt of Nagorno-Karabakh entities was around 315 billion drams (approximately $783 million). The government decided to assume 70% of these debts, while banks agreed to write off the remaining 30% from their balance sheets. However, they did not forgive these debts but transferred the right to demand repayment to the government.
“We propose forgiving the credit obligations of individuals for consumer loans, provided against pledged gold items, up to five million drams (about $13,000), and create the opportunity for the return of pledged gold items,” said Vahe Hovhannisyan, presenting the project to government members.
However, prime minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed reducing the upper limit to 2.5 million drams, and discussing the remaining issues later, upon completion of financial checks.
7,800 gold jewelry items will be returned to their owners
According to the Ministry of Finance, around six thousand individuals from Karabakh had credit obligations secured by gold items.
“During the forced resettlement from Nagorno-Karabakh, banks have already returned [gold] to some borrowers. And some items were transported to Armenia. We’re talking about approximately 1,800 loans,” explained the minister.
Vahe Hovhannisyan stated that financial institutions currently hold 7,800 gold items pledged by Karabakh Armenians. Their total weight is around 30 kilograms.
