Lisa Armoyan awarded more costs in acrimonious divorce case

The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has ordered a wealthy Halifax businessman to pay $375,000 to cover the cost of a detailed audit of his holdings as part of a lengthy and acrimonious divorce.

Vrege Armoyan is embroiled in divorce proceedings with his ex-wife, Lisa Armoyan, who asked for an audit to determine what Vrege Armoyan is worth and whether he's able to pay any of the settlements the courts have made against him.

In a decision released on Thursday, Justice Theresa Forgeron ruled that Lisa Armoyan cannot afford the cost of the audit on her own.

"Ms. Armoyan owns few assets, other than mounting judgements against Mr. Armoyan," Forgeron wrote. "These judgements have yet to be realized."

Vrege Armoyan has claimed he is unable to pay and that his debts exceed his assets.

"A rough tabulation of Mr. Armoyan's statement of property indicates that, at the time of separation, his net worth was about $40 million," Forgeron wrote.

"After separation, Mr. Armoyan began to transfer his investments out of the jurisdiction, including the $20 million Geovex sale proceeds. Mr. Armoyan also moved his yacht to Lebanon and then sold it to a third party. He collapsed most of his RRSPs and then moved those funds out of the jurisdiction, despite the negative income tax consequences."

The $375,000 judgment is in addition to $425,000 Vrege Armoyan has already been ordered to pay. But the court found Armoyan has failed to make other payments to his ex-wife that have been ordered by the court.