No matter how much we want to accelerate the process, there are certain legal procedures. This is what Minister of Justice of Armenia Rustam Badasyan told reporters in parliament today, touching upon the law on civil forfeiture of illegal assets and the comment that many people in Armenia say it would be nice if the funds used to purchase clearly illegal assets were levied and used to take care of the army’s needs.

“The Prosecutor General’s Office has set up a unit that is currently operating, but here I have always been honest and told the public when it can expect to see results. When the bill on civil forfeiture of illegal assets was being considered, I said there is no need to rush and expect the return of funds immediately after adoption of the bill. I believe it will be safe to expect the institution of the first case in 2021,” he said, adding that there is still no lawsuit filed.

Asked if martial law accelerates or decelerates the procedures, Badasyan said martial law may decelerate the procedures since everyone has additional duties during martial law.