Even in the Czech Republic, not many people know where the town of Rudna is situated. Nonetheless, it gained attention when a dispute arose over a casino that Armenian criminals intended to construct there.
The scandal started when the mega-casino, planned to be the biggest in Central Europe, never opened. Local authorities were alerted that the entire project, associated with Armenian crime boss Arman Aharonyan, was a dubious scam from the outset, even during the advertising campaign for the failed casino.
Forbes magazine informed Rudna residents that a massive poker tournament with an €88 million prize pool would be held in the small town located three kilometers from Prague's capital. The casino that never opened still displays the announcement of the event: site The casino that never opened still has the event's announcement displayed:
According to the Forbes publication, residents also learned that the “largest recreation and entertainment complex All Inn Prague” was supposed to be constructed in the area of the infamous Atol Hotel. The complex was set to feature 1,000 slot machines, 150 live game tables, a 1000 m2 Wellness & Spa center, saunas, massages, relaxation pool, relaxation zones, and 125 superior rooms.
Oddly, following the significant scandal when the promised tournament, casino, and other facilities didn’t open on October 8, 2020, website the casino is still operational:
And corroborates everything Forbes had reported.
But what's most significant in this story isn't that the casino never opened or the tournament didn't occur, but that these events triggered a major confrontation in Rudna, revealing the involvement of an Armenian criminal authority, Arman Aharonyan, who has lived in the Czech Republic for many years and has gained quite notorious reputation there.
The opposition in the local council formed a commission to investigate the connections between local mayor Lubomír Kocman and the investor in the failed project, Arman Aharonjan. The result was a report shedding light on Akharonian's personality, an incredibly secretive individual despite being linked to several criminal cases in the Czech Republic and neighboring Slovakia. Even a photo of him couldn't be found.
So, it was discovered that there is a clear link between the All Inn Prague leisure complex and international organized crime.
The NAM Property company owns the Atol hotel building, where the All Inn Prague casino was supposed to be erected. According to the trade register, the owner is Elen Aharonjan.
A person with the same last name, Arman Aharonjan, has been recognized as the leader of the Armenian criminal network.
According to ČT 24, the Slovakian police charged him with blackmail and extortion. They also tried to murder Akharonyan in 2007, but mistakenly killed an innocent person. As a result of the investigation, an international arrest warrant was issued for Akharonyan.
The armcoin.co website also confirms Arman Aharonyan’s involvement with the new casino. This website is run by the Estonian company ArmCoin OÜ, with Arman Aharonyan as the Managing Director:
The website states: “In partnership with All Inn Prague, the largest casino in Europe, we have created the stablecoin ArmCoin, which will securely store the gaming capital of players around the world.”
Another indication of the casino connection with Arman Aharonyan (born 1983) is his participation in the Velká Kunratická cross for the All Inn10 team.
The members of the Rudny Council, who compiled this report, also emphasize a significant fact confirming the link of Arman Akharonyan with organized crime. This is the decision of the Supreme Court 7 To 55/2013 of 10/15/2013, which considers Arman Akharonyan to be part of the criminal environment.
The report's authors conclude that the entire All Inn Prague casino project is connected with organized crime based on the presented facts, and therefore it is not reliable and promises or contractual obligations are unlikely to be fulfilled in the future.
Opposing MPs also stated that if the project were to proceed, “the city of Rudna would face security and reputational risks due to the infiltration of organized crime into the city.”
As mentioned, the ambitious plan to create a “mini Las Vegas” near Prague never materialized. The planned poker mega-tournament did not happen either, and the Atol hotel never transformed into “the largest recreation and entertainment complex All Inn Prague”. The tournament was reportedly canceled due to the pandemic, and the building renovation ceased prior to the arrival of Covid-19.
This allowed local opposition to mock the mayor of Rudny, but the main point is that despite the promises, it seems that no one was actually planning to build a casino in Rudny.
Rudná pro život wrote about this shortly before the casino's planned opening date:
And indeed – it appeared very suspicious. The explanation for why this project turned out to be a bubble is still unknown. And Arman Akharonyan can be called many things, but not foolish.
His intelligence is demonstrated by two events in his life. The first is related to the failed assassination attempt on Akharonian in 2007, when he was targeted by another member of the Armenian organized crime, Andranik Soghoyan, for refusing to pay $500,000 to the group. Sogoyan fled to Armenia and was reportedly killed, while Akharonyan stayed in the Czech Republic and took control of the Armenian criminal group.
The second fact is related to the first – despite repeated attempts by the Czech (and not only) police to arrest Akharonyan, he is still at large and is in the Czech Republic. At the same time, he conducts a profitable business and, among other things, masters a very promising cryptocurrency market. Apparently, successfully. But the question – why did Akharonyan have this scam in Rudna – remains unsolved. After all, he does nothing for nothing.
