“Strong Armenia”: Preparation for COP17 Accompanied by Opaque Procurement and Embezzlement

ArmInfo. Preparations for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) raise questions regarding the justification of state budget expenditures. This was stated by Asmik Yengoyan, a deputy of the Strong Armenia parliamentary faction, at a press conference in Yerevan on October 13 on the topic "Corruption instead of improving the quality of life of Armenian citizens."

She recalled that her faction had raised the issue of organizing COP17 in the Armenian parliament, expressing concern about possible corruption risks. According to her, during this period, representatives of the political team studied the processes related to preparations for the conference and identified a number of problems. "First of all, let us make this clear: we are not opposed to the substance or holding of COP17. We recognize that this is a prestigious event. However, we are opposed to the inefficient expenditure of state budget funds, accompanied by corruption risks, taking place under the guise of organizing it. That is why we conducted the relevant study, during which we identified serious cases that raise questions regarding the justification of the expenditures," Yengoyan emphasized.

Thus, the deputy drew attention to the fact that Armenia’s Ministry of Environment attempted to present its agreements with one organization as the result of a competitive selection process. Recalling that the selection was conducted among 12 organizations, Yengoyan explained that, ultimately, 10 contracts within the framework of COP17 were concluded with the same organization. "This company, which specializes in event organization and advertising, received contracts from the government, including for the installation and configuration of cameras, the supply of furniture, and transportation services," the deputy clarified.

At the same time, she expressed doubts about the justification of this approach, noting that the public is essentially being asked to believe that one organization is capable of independently ensuring the high-quality performance of such diverse types of work in full compliance with UN standards. "As for the separate contract for the installation and configuration of cameras, I would like to point out that the relevant work is actually being carried out by the IT company Team Systems, although the contract for performing it was concluded with another organization,"

- the opposition politician noted.

Yengoyan separately addressed the financing of the Meridian exhibition complex, the total amount of which, according to the data she presented, reached 10 billion 899 million 297 thousand drams. According to her, the government initially allocated 5 billion 775 million drams in funding. "Of this amount, about 3 billion drams were planned to be directed directly toward holding COP17, while 2 billion 700 million drams were earmarked for pledging the complex to the government for a period of six years.  Subsequently, an additional decision was made to increase the funding by another 2 billion drams," Yengoyan noted.

As the deputy explained, this made it possible to extend the period of use of the complex from 200 to 400 days, providing for the possibility of holding other events there in the future, and to extend the contract term from 6 to 8 years. According to the deputy, the impression is that the intention was to hold all COP conferences in Armenia.  She also pointed to a discrepancy between the estimated cost and the amount reflected in the contract. According to her calculations, even taking the stated expenses into account, the total amount should have been 7 billion 775 million drams, whereas the actual contract amount reached 7 billion 931 million 566 thousand drams. "That is, it is unclear where the additional 156 million 566 thousand drams came from. At the same time, the financing of the Meridian complex was not limited to the stated expenses.  The government also provided two loans on preferential terms: one in the amount of 1 billion 839 million 350 thousand drams at 1% annual interest, and the other in the amount of 1 billion 128 million 380 thousand drams at 0.3% annual interest. As a result, the total amount of financing related to the Meridian complex exceeded 10 billion drams," the deputy said.

Yengoyan also drew attention to the source of the financing, noting that the funds for these purposes were allocated not from the budget but from the government’s reserve fund. Moreover, according to her, it remains unclear at present whether additional expenses were envisaged that have not yet been publicly disclosed. In particular, the deputy mentioned information about problems that arose with purchasing air tickets for delegations and about the allocation of additional funds to ensure their arrival in Armenia. Yengoyan cited the absence of technical descriptions in the contracts as another cause for concern. According to her, the documents may, for example, mention construction work at the Meridian complex, but the specific list, scope, and content of the work are not disclosed. "The absence of detailed technical descriptions makes it impossible to assess whether there were more affordable offers meeting UN requirements and standards," the opposition politician explained.

Another deputy of the Strong Armenia faction, Lena Matevosyan, commenting on the statement by Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Abisoghomonyan that all procurement is carried out in accordance with UN standards, as well as the statement by the Ministry of Environment that companies had been preselected to organize COP17, also expressed doubts about the transparency of the procedures conducted. According to her, they were unable to find any information about the announced tender. "As a result, contracts for transportation, communications, advertising, and a number of other services were concluded with the same person. This concerns the organization that acted as the organizer of Snoop Dogg’s concert in Yerevan (a concert that never took place - Ed.). The question arises: on what grounds was this particular organization given preference if a selection process was indeed held?" Matevosyan asked rhetorically.

Addressing the statements about compliance with UN standards, the deputy emphasized that the authorities had apparently misinterpreted them. As an example, she cited errors made during translation, pointing out that even the words "chair" and "armchair" had been translated incorrectly. In her opinion, such circumstances raise additional questions as to how correctly the relevant standards were understood and applied. "First, it is necessary to make sure that these standards have been correctly understood and translated, and only then refer to them," the deputy emphasized.

Thus, according to Matevosyan, when it comes to Armenia’s territorial integrity, the authorities demonstrate a willingness to make concessions, but when issues concerning state budget expenditures are involved, this willingness disappears somewhere.

It should be recalled that on October 12, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister (MFA) Robert Abisoghomonyan told journalists that the final amount of expenses for holding COP17 was not yet known, since certain organizational work was still ongoing. At the same time, the diplomat expressed the conviction that Armenia’s Ministry of Environment, which is responsible for procurement, would provide information on the expenses after the event was over. Asked to comment on the numerous questions voiced by the opposition from the parliamentary rostrum concerning inflated estimates for purchasing goods for the conference, ordering events from a single entity without a tender, and so on, Soghomonyan assured that the procurement had been carried out according to UN standards