During the government meeting on April 4, a decision was made to provide gold to displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, which is pledged in banks. As noted by Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan, about 6,000 gold-backed loans will be affected by this decision.
"Some of the gold was pledged before the forced deportation from Nagorno-Karabakh. Currently, there is gold in banks owned by 1,800 citizens, the collateral rights of which belong to the government. We will return this gold to these 1,800 borrowers. At the moment, loans totaling up to 5 million will be repaid. There are five loans totaling more than 5 million that require further examination," he explained.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that this decision is a logical continuation of the government's previous steps to support the people from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinyan stated, "We discussed and decided that this is illogical, especially in this situation, when we are trying to do everything possible to ensure that our brothers and sisters, forcibly deported from Nagorno-Karabakh, find themselves in the best possible conditions." He added that before signing the decision, it is necessary to revisit this issue to have clear answers.
Armenian Central Bank Chairman Martin Galstyan noted that a significant portion of the loans from banks or financial organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh have been returned. "We are talking about the remaining part," he said.
The statement regarding the return of the pledge can be submitted to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Armenia both online and in person. Based on this statement, the ministry will draw up an agreement on debt forgiveness and provide it to the citizens, specifying the date and time for the return of the pledge.
