Armenia Hasn’t Received Any Money from Sale of L.A. Mansion Owned by Family of Former Finance Minister

The two-story villa, featuring eleven bedrooms and 27 bathrooms in the expensive Holmby Hills neighborhood of the Westwood district of Los Angeles, sold for $36 million.

The U.S. government, based on allegations it was purchased with bribes paid to their father, seized the property in July 2024 and some of the proceeds were to be sent to Armenia according to a deal the Khachatryans negotiated with the U.S. government.

Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office now says it has no news on any money transfer.

In July 2024, Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s announced a month earlier, Gurgen and Artyom Khachatryans submitted a request to the U.S. District Court to reach an agreement on the confiscation of property, and not long after, an agreement was approved by the court’s decision.

“The mansion in Los Angeles, which is considered property of criminal origin by the court decision and belongs to the family of former Armenia Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan, will be seized and sold at the highest market value,” the announcement read. “Negotiations are underway between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the US competent authority on the issue of returning the majority of the funds received as a result of the sale of the mansion to Armenia.”

This was followed by a statement from Vinson & Elkins, the company representing the Khachatryan brothers in the U.S declaring that the U.S. Department of Justice suspended its investigation of the Khachatryans in June 2024.

“Based on the decision to terminate the investigation and suspend the confiscation case, the Department of Justice and the Khachatryans have reached an agreement to also resolve the issue of unfulfilled obligations regarding the confiscation. It was decided that the Holmby Hills real estate will be sold, and the proceeds will be distributed between the parties. In addition, part of the proceeds from the sale of the Holmby Hills property will be provided to the Khachatryans, and the other part, at the request of the Khachatryans, will be provided to the Republic of Armenia for the benefit of the Armenian people,” the statement read.

On May 8, 2025, Armenian Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan announced the following on Public Television about receiving part of the proceeds from the sale of the Khachatryans’ house.

“The mansion was sold at the beginning of this year, and we went through a complicated and professional path with our American partners. A number of documents that they needed in order to be able to freeze the real estate in the United States were provided by Armenia’s Prosecutor’s Office, and based on these documents, the property was frozen, and later the Khachatryan family decided to offer the U.S. competent authority a settlement, according to which 85 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the property are given to the US government, and 15 percent remains for them. After that, we started talking to our partners, because we must cede a certain percentage of the value of the property located in a foreign territory (there is such an unwritten rule) to the given country. We currently have a verbal agreement with our American partners, who, according to their claim, reckon that about 80 percent of the amount should be transferred to Armenia. We have taken all the actions expected of us and are waiting for the actions of the American side.”

From what Vardapetyan said, it follows that the Armenian side expects to receive 68 percent of the total amount.

Hetq asked Vardapetyan what practical steps have been taken in this direction, and if there is no practical progress, what is the reason.

Vardapetyan’s office replied that it will issue an official statement if it receives any news on the matter.