On 20.09.2019, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction announced the court verdict concerning the case of “ARZNI” LLC and Bankruptcy Manager of the same LLC vs. Anelik Bank, for confiscation of the amount equivalent to USD 22 million. The court decided to satisfy the claim and charge from the bank the amount mentioned in the application.

In this regard, IDBank (formerly “Anelik Bank”) issued a statement: “We acknowledge that we do not accept the verdict and do insist that the Bank has not violated any prior agreement during the Arzni Mineral Water factory alienation deal. Therefore, we consider the decision of the Court to charge the mentioned amount is totally groundless and biased, and, in fact, performed in favor of a person who has been known in Armenia for many years for his tricky work style with various banks in Armenia.

Only Anelik Bank and its shareholders have lost tens million dollars because of this “businessman”. Unfortunately it must be mentioned, that the adopted absurd verdict challenges the common sense and the entire banking system. The "justification" of the arguments accepted by the Court as the basis for the verdict and neglecting of the arguments presented by us raise our doubts about the objectivity and impartiality of the Court, so we assume that in some cases the judicial system could not fully overcome the "corrupt practices". The verdict casts a shadow on the Armenian Government's efforts to create a more favorable investment environment, when investors are invited to come to Armenia to continue their business in their home country, while the Court makes a completely awkward judgement to charge an astronomical penalty from the bank with 100 % foreign capital. The creation of such precedents will inevitably lead to distrust of the foreign investors towards the investment environment of the Republic of Armenia.

We will undoubtedly appeal this absurd verdict to higher instances, and we assure our clients that the bank is determined to protect its own and its clients' interests, and the Court decision as previously will not have any adverse consequences for our clients, as IDBank is one of the most stable banks in the Armenian banking system.

We also assure you that, regardless of the court proceedings imposed on us, we will strictly follow our policy and practices, that is: to fulfill our obligations and to promote the rights and interests of our clients through all means, provided to us by the RA legislation, including the lawsuits. We also hope that the judicial reforms in New Armenia will ultimately yield results, and that corruption elements will sooner or later be eliminated from all spheres."