An event was held today to mark the third anniversary of the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Republic of Armenia and the professional holiday of the Anti-Corruption Committee employees. The Prime Minister of RA Nikol Pashinyan attended the event.
The Prime Minister congratulated the Anti-Corruption Committee on the occasion of the third anniversary of its establishment and the professional day of the Committee employee, and thanked for the work done during this period. "Certainly, it is clear, that establishing a new system is a complicated and challenging task. Over the past three years, great and serious efforts have been invested to establish the Anti-Corruption Committee. But I must also note that there is no point in announcing the completion of the establishment of any system," the Prime Minister said. According to Nikol Pashinyan, they should not wait for the formation and transition periods to pass to consider the mission accomplished, since there is no point of establishment, and they must constantly strive for improvement and development.
The Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee of RA, Sasun Khachatryan, touching upon the work carried out in establishing the structure, stated that in parallel with the main activities, the staff of the Committee has been replenished, working conditions have improved, and the skills used in operational work have been enhanced. According to Sasun Khachatryan, these works continue daily at present. According to him, starting from 2021, the Committee has carried out a greater volume of work in each subsequent year, which is mainly due to the gradual recruitment of personnel, and the development of operational-investigative potential.
The Chairman of the Committee presented the statistical indicators of the investigated criminal proceedings, noting that in the first 9 months of 2024, the investigators of the Anti-Corruption Committee conducted preliminary investigations under 1896 criminal proceedings, compared to 1477 proceedings in the same period last year. During the same period, investigations were completed under 629 proceedings, compared to 363 in the same period last year. In other words, 419 proceedings, or 24.8% more were investigated in the first 9 months of the current year, and the number of completed proceedings increased by 266, or 73.3%.
Out of the completed proceedings, 114 against 250 persons have been sent to court with an indictment. Although the number of proceedings sent to court has decreased by 20, or 15% compared to the same period last year, and the number of persons sued has decreased by 36, or 12.6%, nevertheless, according to the Committee Chairman, these statistics do not indicate a decrease in the effectiveness of the investigation. This decrease is associated exclusively with non-rehabilitable circumstances, mainly with a sharp increase in cases of refusal from criminal prosecution, mainly based on active repentance in the reporting period of the current year.
The Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee also touched upon convictions in corruption cases, bringing forward some statistics not only for the period under discussion but also for the two previous years.
According to the Chairman of the Committee, in the first 9 months of the current year, out of the cases sent to court with an indictment, verdicts of guilty have been pronounced in 21 cases, and no acquittals have been executed.
In 2023, out of 169 cases sent to court with an indictment, verdicts of guilty were pronounced in 73 cases, out of 85 criminal cases sent to court with an indictment in 2022, verdicts of guilty were pronounced in 47 cases.
Touching upon the recovered amounts, the Chairman of the Committee noted that in 2024 alone, as of October 1, AMD 628,257,462 has been actually recovered in monetary form from the total damage caused to the state and society in ongoing and completed criminal proceedings, of which AMD 305,891,952 went to the state budget, and AMD 322,365,510 went to the community. AMD 823,387,025 has been recovered in the form of property.
In the first 9 months of this year alone, 59 episodes of bribery for organizing the process of issuing driving licenses were uncovered in 7 criminal proceedings. According to Sasun Khachatryan, there are still many manifestations of corruption in the process of conscription for military service. During this year, the Committee has conducted investigations under 34 criminal proceedings on assistance to evade military service in exchange for a bribe, 6 criminal proceedings against 23 people have already been sent to court with an indictment. Claims have been filed against high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense and doctors. Numerous cases of corruption have been revealed both in the state governance system and in the local government system.
Thanking the Prime Minister and the Government of the Republic of Armenia for their efforts in establishing the Anti-Corruption Committee, the Chairman of the Committee assured that they will redouble their efforts, and work even harder and better to ensure that the country is free from corruption.
On the occasion of the third anniversary of the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Republic of Armenia, a number of employees of the Anti-Corruption Committee were awarded a commemorative medal of RA Prime Minister and a valuable gift for their contribution to strengthening the legal system and the rule of law, as well as for their conscientious and effective work.
