PSRC expresses concern about "unfounded accusations" of the police against its leadership

ArmInfo. The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia is concerned about the "unreasonable accusations" of the police against the regulator's management. "We are confident that as a result of a professional and objective analysis of the facts, it was possible to avoid disclosing" sensational data "which does not correspond to real state of affairs," the Commission's statement received by ArmInfo reads.

According to the information, the powers of the PSRC in the process of establishing and revising the tariffs for the provision of services by "Veolia Jur" CJSC are strictly limited, are  mainly technical and do not presuppose a discretionary attitude. In particular, as PSRC recalled, the tariff was formed following the results of the international tender - according to the agreement between the government of Armenia and the company, in which the tariff scenario was already envisaged. The same document proposed a mechanism for further adjustment of the basic tariff, taking into account 3 specific factors - inflation, a change in the tariff for electricity, and a change in the expected basic consumption volumes.  "Therefore, during the contract period (15 years), water tariffs in Armenia will be regulated on the basis of this principle," the PSRC says, stressing that in this context, the objective human factor in the revision of tariffs is completely excluded. At the same time, according to the tariff appendix to the above-mentioned agreement, the basic tariff for water will grow until 2023, and after that it will decrease.

In this context, the PSRC considers it a far-fetched version that the increase in tariff is caused by the visit of members of the Commission to France. The visit, as insisted by the regulator, pursued the goal of sharing experiences, which is documented.

To recall, on August 25 the Armenian police accused "Veolia Jur" company of bribing the head of the PSRC, and the chief of the commission Robert Nazaryan in illegal actions. In particular, according to the information, representatives of "Veolia Jur" CJSC management appropriated the sums on an especially large scale by means of falsification, preparation of falsified enforcement acts and other abuses. It was also established that the director of the company, Christian Lefaix, and the above-mentioned Gor Grigoryan paid for the tickets of the PSRC head and seven other employees to Paris and back, trying to bribe them and ensure approval of the application for the tariff for 2017-18. It was reported that the purchase of tickets cost the "Veolia" company 4,239,235.8 drams. Another 8.359.133 drams (15.338.18 euros) were spent on the hotel. The total amount was 12,598.368 drams. And then the commission approved a tariff increase by f 11, 414 drams, so the cost was 191, 414 instead of 180 drams. The difference is paid by the state. During the tour the PSRC staff was accompanied by Christian Lefaix himself, his assistant interpreter Arman Aloyev and the administrative director Marianna Shahinyan, their tickets and stay at the hotel cost 1,572,573 and 3,245,442 drams respectively. In fact, a criminal case has been instituted in accordance with Point 1 of Part 3 of Article 312 and paragraph 2 of Part 4 of Article 311 of the Criminal Code.  The case was transferred to the Special Investigation Service.

Former PSRC head Robert Nazaryan responded to this, noting that "if you consider exchanging experience as a bribe, you can turn everything into bribes." "The agreement was signed between the government and the Veolia company in Paris, concluded as a result of an international tender, in which the tariff scenario was already approved, our functions were extremely limited, and we could do nothing, we just played the role of confirmer," he stated. "Veolia Jur" CJSC also expressed its indignation in connection with the reports of the Armenian Police about the company's offenses. The company said that they do not accept the accusatory nature of the police report, especially "do not consider correct voicing certain names now, when the preliminary investigation is ongoing, and the presumption of innocence of citizens acts." "As for the essence of the problem, the company will make a corresponding explanation in this regard," the message reads.

CJSC "Veolia Jur" (subsidiary of the French "Veolia Generale des Eaux") is a common water supply and drainage operator in Yerevan and a number of regions of Armenia. Since January 1, 2017, property management of five companies passed to "Veolia Jur": Yerevan Jur, Armavodokanal, "Shirak Vodokanal", "Lori Vodokanal" and "Nor Akunk".