Armenia is still discussing whether the introduction of the institute of confiscation of assets without an accusatory verdict can be acceptable for Armenia or not. This is what Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated when responding to questions at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

According to him, Armenia and even a circle of representatives of the former government have rather serious concerns about this.

“I believe it is very important to state the fact that this is not only an internationally accepted practice, but has also been within the scope of the international commitments assumed by the Republic of Armenia since 2015, including before the Council of Europe. This mechanism is mentioned in the Council of Europe convention on laundering of revenues received through crimes, search, seizure, confiscation and the fight against financing of terrorism, the UN Convention against Corruption and, in essence, Armenia assumed certain commitments in regard to this mechanism from the Moneyval Committee in 2015,” the Prime Minister said.

Pashinyan emphasized the fact that, in his opinion, this is a mechanism that can and must be implemented in Armenia. “However, Armenia is a democratic country where decisions aren’t made by one person. There is a need for wide discussions, after which we will make a decision. Our cooperation with the Council of Europe will be very helpful so that there is no attempt to interpret this or use it as a tool for persecutions because our country has turned this page over once and for all,” Pashinyan concluded.