YEREVAN. – Corruption threat to national security in Armenia became all too evident after the clashes in Karabakh in April 2016, Mr Richard Mills, the US Ambassador to Armenia, told Wednesday in his speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia (AmCham).

Ever since, sense of corruption as an evil which erodes state security has been making its way into public discourse in Armenia. This sentiment has been brought into spotlight.

Government must empower state institutions and send a clear message that corruption will not be tolerated, and that no one is above the law. Absent this message, no truly transformative change can occur, he said.

The US Embassy stands ready to encourage the new Prime Minister, Mr Karen Karapetyan, in his pronounced intention to fight corruption, he added.

In this regard, he highly valued some of the recently approved bills against illegal incomes of state officials, which provide for criminal sentences and limitations to hold positions in public offices for false income declarations.

“But more needs to be done,” he said.

The ambassador believes two endeavors could greatly benefit the sanity of public sector in Armenia.  One of them is increased freedom for prosecutors, which needs permission to start cases even if an actual bribe is not evident, but the assets which a state official declares are dozen times bigger than his official salary, which triggers reasonable suspicion.

Another suggestion is for the Government to establish a fully independent body with a mandate both to investigate and prosecute cases. The US Embassy is ready to work with the Government if it chooses to create such a body, he added.

The Prime Minister of Armenia is deciding how to restructure the anti-corruption council and other government bodies that are entitled to fight corruption. Setting an independent agency with a larger scope of duties could be an option, the diplomat added.