The mayor of Gyumri, Vardan Ghukasyan, has been arrested for two months.

Since yesterday, the Anti-Corruption Court has been reviewing the motion to arrest Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan. The hearings concluded almost at dawn.

It should be noted that yesterday, a large number of police forces were concentrated in the yard of the Anti-Corruption Court. The motion to apply detention as a preventive measure against Vardan Ghukasyan was assigned to Judge Vardges Sargsyan of the Anti-Corruption Court.

The Anti-Corruption Committee told NEWS.am that a motion had been submitted to the court to apply detention as a preventive measure against the head of the Gyumri community.

Earlier, NEWS.am had reported that early in the morning, law enforcement officers entered the Gyumri City Hall. Masked special forces blocked the exits and entrances. Citizens gathered in front of the City Hall, where the police detained several of them.

The masked forces conducted a special operation, during which they quickly arrested and took away Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan from the back entrance of the City Hall in a vehicle. He was taken to Yerevan, to the Anti-Corruption Committee.

Later, the Anti-Corruption Committee released a statement saying that eight employees of the City Hall, including Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan, were arrested on charges of bribery — both receiving and giving bribes.

Among those arrested was also the Chief Architect of the city, Henrik Gasparyan. The Anti-Corruption Committee’s statement included a wiretapped audio recording of a conversation between the mayor and the chief architect.