The Transparency International organization has released its Global Corruption Report 2009.

The report specifically deals with corruption in Armenia. According to the authors, corruption is thriving in all the spheres of Armenia’s life and takes such forms as mass bribery and political pressure, which causes grave damage and impedes steady economic progress in Armenia.

The report contains information on 45 countries. In the part dealing with Armenia, the authors focus their attention of the misfortunes of the Royal Armenia Company and the Gala TV Company. The owners and managers of the Royal Armenia Company found themselves in prison for exposing the facts of bribery in Armenia’s customs system, which is one of the most corrupt in Armenia. Transparency International refers to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who severely criticized the Armenian customs bodies on April 17, 2008. The organization doubts the situation in the country will be improved, as the system is headed by Gagik Khachatryan, the person that demanded a bribe from the Royal Armenia Company.

As regard the Gyumri-based Gala TV Company, the report says that it was subjected to economic pressure after airing the speech of Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan in September 2007. Grigor Amalyan, Chairman of the RA TV and Radio Commission, demanded that the TV company stop broadcasting political programs. After the company refused, it was subjected to economic pressure.