In any case, the procedure for return of previously embezzled properties has been launched and will proceed. Yes, the procedure is slow and difficult, but one of the major pledges of the authorities is to lead a fight against corruption. This is what Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan told reporters today.

“This concerns the embezzlement of properties in the past and present. In a certain stage of the procedure, law-enforcement authorities have stated that they face certain obstacles, and the parliament’s law on confiscation of illegally acquired assets will serve as an additional tool for law-enforcement authorities,” he said.

Asked if this might become a tool to exert pressure on political opponents, the parliamentary speaker said he doesn’t know what to say to a person who believes the Armenian authorities will use this law and make a transaction to pursue certain ex-officials who have somehow become millionaires.