ArmInfo. Deputy Head of the Special Investigation Service (SIS), Advisor of Justice of the 1st Class Mushegh Babayan was appointed Acting Deputy Head of the Anti- Corruption Committee.
According to the official website of the Armenian government, the decision on his dismissal from the post of deputy head of the SIS and appointment to the post of deputy chairman of the Committee was signed by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on October 21.
Mushegh Babayan, Senior Investigator for Especially Important Cases, was relieved of his post and appointed Deputy Head of the Special Investigation Service on February 20, 2014. By the order of the President of the Republic of Armenia dated November 21, 2013, he was awarded the Mkhitar Gosh medal.
To recall, in March 2021, the parliament in the second and final reading adopted the package of bills submitted by the government "On the Anti-Corruption Committee" and related projects, which also provide for the abolition of the Special Investigative Service.
As then Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia Rustam Badasyan noted in his speech, appointments to the new body, including to leadership positions, will be made within the framework of an open competition. At the same time, as the minister noted, for the employees of the committee, in contrast to employees of other investigative bodies, stricter requirements and restrictions will be introduced. Accordingly, they will be provided with additional guarantees for the full implementation of their activities. As a result, according to the former head of the Ministry of Justice, staff reductions will begin in a number of bosdies that previously, within the framework of their powers, were engaged in combating and countering corruption. In particular, this includes the National Security Service, the Special Investigative Service, the Investigative Committee and the State Revenue Committee. These employees are planned to be merged into the new body- Anti-Corruption Committee. The number of employees of the new department will be about 150 people, including at least 30 investigators and 60 detectives.
The new single body for identifying and investigating corruption crimes, which since September 16 has been headed by former head of the SIS Sasun Khachatryan, will carry out, among other things, operational- search activities.