Armenia’s economy minister steps down following arrests

Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian resigned on Wednesday following the arrest of one of his deputies and several other subordinates on corruption charges

Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian resigned on Wednesday, citing frequent disagreements with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian during his three-year tenure as the reason. 

Vahan took the ministerial post in November 2020, expecting a short tenure due to potential regime change. Despite numerous disagreements, he continued to perform his duties as the minister of economy.

Kerobian did not elaborate on these disagreements or address the recent arrests of senior ministry officials. He defended the ministry’s handling of a state fund supporting fruit orchard establishment, which was extended by the government. Despite initially ruling out resignation following the arrests, he later stated he would take responsibility if the accusations against him were proven. 

The second criminal case is related to a procurement tender arranged by the Ministry of Economy, which was annulled by a court last summer. Officials from the ministry are accused of unlawfully disqualifying an information technology company, Harmonia, in order to ensure that a larger firm, Synergy International Systems, would win the tender. 

On Jan. 31, investigators also apprehended Ashot Hovanesian, the founder of Synergy, along with two current and former employees. The latter were released on Monday. Hovanesian’s attorneys criticized his ongoing detention on Tuesday as “unlawful and biased.” 

Hovanesian’s earlier arrest prompted strong criticism from the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE) in Armenia. The organization stated that baseless detentions of “business representatives and other prominent individuals” are making Armenia a “high-risk country” for both local and foreign technology entrepreneurs. 

 Source: Newsroom