The Gyumri City Hall building has reportedly been cut off from electricity, according to the mayor’s advisor, Lilit Aghakyan.

“This is probably part of the ongoing actions,” she said during a live broadcast.

Earlier, NEWS.am reported that law enforcement personnel entered Gyumri City Hall early in the morning. Masked special forces blocked the entry and exit of employees. Citizens gathered outside the City Hall, where a growing number of police were deployed. The situation became tense, and at one point, scuffles broke out between the police and the crowd.

Inside the City Hall, the atmosphere was also tense. Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan was isolated, with armed officers stationed near the doors. Employees tried to enter to prevent the mayor’s arrest. Shortly afterward, Ghukasyan left his office and called for calm, stating that everything would proceed according to the law, and then they would see what happens.

A police convoy from Yerevan has been dispatched to Gyumri.

Later, the Anti-Corruption Committee announced that eight City Hall employees, including Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan, were arrested on charges of giving and receiving bribes.

Among those arrested is the city’s chief architect, Henrik Gasparyan. The Anti-Corruption Committee’s statement included a secretly recorded conversation between the mayor and the chief architect.