YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. In his open letter published recently in a number of Armenian newspapers, Herve Caroff, director of the Yerevan Brandy Company (YBC), neither denied nor confirmed the facts which indicate an illegal and unsparing use of reserve spirits by the company. Aram Sargsian, chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia, deputy of the RA National Assembly, said that during a talk with NT correspondent on September 8. According to him, the fact of spirit embezzlement at the YBC was confirmed by the RA Prosecutor General during a meeting with him. Commenting on this letter addressed to him, A. Sargsian noted that only his allegation about the company's sale is refuted without any arguments. He said that the examination of the data presented by the YBC management on how much grapes was purchased in these years, how much brandy spirit can be obtained from this amount of grapes, and how much brandy was sold allows to conclude that the YBC has produced at least twice as much brandy as it would be possible in case of the given amount of grape purchase. "According to the agreement they signed at the time of the company's purchase, the initial amount of the basic spirit must have been kept," A. Sargsian noted. At the same time, he said that his questions were addressed not to the YBC's director but to the management of Pernod Ricard. "I applied to our authorities, which conducted a transaction with the company's management and are obliged to protect state interests," he stated.

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