CORRECTED: Ruben Vardanyan of ‘Troika Laundromat’ fame appointed state minister of breakaway Artsakh Republic

Correction: An earlier version of this news brief incorrectly reported that Ruben Vardanyan had replaced Arayik Harutyunyanas the president of Nagorn-Karabkah. In fact, Harutyunyan has appointed Vardanyan as state minister.Meduza apologizes for the mistake.

The ultra-wealthy entrepreneur and investor Ruben Vardanyan has been appointed the new minister of state in the breakaway republic of Artsakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

Arayik Harutyunyan, the president of the unrecognized republic, announced Vardanyan’s appointment on Artsakh’s official website.

In early September, Vardanyan gave up his Russian citizenship and moved to Nagorno-Karabakh with an Armenian passport. By late October, he had consented to becoming Harutyunyan’s minister of state.

• Ruben Vardanyan is the former owner of the Troika Dialog investment company and founder of the Skolkovo business school. In 2021, Forbes estimated his worth to be a billion dollars, ranking him 116 among Russia’s 200 richest people.
• In 2019, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published a series of investigations about Vardanyan and his “Troika Laundromat,” tracing $4.5 billion in hidden transfers to Russia’s most influential people.

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