Thursday, October 3 2019 14:51

ArmInfo. On October 3, the Armenian government approved the draft decision "On the  anti-corruption strategy of the Republic of Armenia and the program  of measures for 2019-2022." The document caused a mixed reaction from  the heads of law enforcement agencies.

As the Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan stated, presenting the  draft decision, it is planned to create an anti-corruption body in  the form of a commission on combating corruption and an  anti-corruption committee. The work of law enforcement agencies will  be completely reviewed. So, it is expected that in 2021 a single  anti-corruption body will be established called the Anti-Corruption  Committee to identify and investigate corruption crimes.

The project also proposes uniting investigative bodies of the  republic. In particular, by 2021 there will be 3 investigative bodies  - the Investigative Committee, the Special Investigation Service and  the Anti- Corruption Committee. Serious social guarantees will be  provided for employees of the sector, and their activities will be  monitored by a special unit within the RA General Prosecutor's  Office, the minister noted.

A 3-year transitional period has also been established, and starting  in 2021, the corresponding operational unit of the National Security  Service (NSS) will deal with the detection of corruption crimes. The  list of persons who will be required to declare their income and  sources of their formation will also be expanded.  The strategy also  provides for the development of mechanisms for the confiscation of  illegally acquired property, as well as the amount of the necessary  financial resources will be clarified. Implementation of the 4-year  anti-corruption policy program, as Badasyan pointed out, will require  16 billion 528 million drams.

David Ananyan, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, and Eduard  Martirosyan, acting director of the National Security Service,  expressed their objections to the proposed draft decision. According  to Ananyan, the Investigative Department of the SRC is an important  link in the disclosure of tax crimes and SRC considers with  reservations the provision on the removal of the functions of the  Department from the tax and customs committee. Martirosyan, in turn,  suggested, in addition to the SIS, to entrust the investigation of  corruption cases during the transition period - from 2021 to 2024  also to NSS investigators.

In response, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said that  we should be guided by the logic laid down in the basis of the  discussions on the project. "I understand that any changes cause  certain fears in people, but let's not be guided by them. The  political issue and the corresponding decision has already been made,  we can't delay it out endlessly," he said. As a result, the document  was approved in the form presented by the head of the Ministry of  Justice.