The National Anti-Corruption Council of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as “the NA Council”) has conducted a preliminary study on the report filed by head of VETO initiative Narek Malyan according to which Minister of Justice of Armenia Rustam Badasyan, while exercising his powers, has committed an act that can be reasonably interpreted as his actions or the actions of a person affiliated to him for personal interests, which has caused conflict of interest (proscribed by Article 33 of the Law “On public service”).
In particular, in his report, Malyan reported three circumstances that shall be part of the preliminary study:
(1) when the family member of a minister does business in the sphere of coordination of the given minister, this is a manifestation of corruption, particularly conflict of interest, especially when the business is started after the person becomes a minister, not before that;
(2) the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On state service in the National Assembly” also extends to the adviser to the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Law directly prohibits other paid work, and the mentioned business is other paid work;
(3) when the state job is given to a friend or the wife of a close one without a competition, this is also a manifestation of corruption and is referred to as cronyism.
During the preliminary study conducted by the NA Council, the issues raised by Narek Malyan have been comprehensively studied within the scope of the following circumstances subject to disclosure:
1. Did the person affiliated to the Minister of Justice of Armenia (spouse Tatevik Sargsyan) start doing business related to the sphere of coordination of the minister after the minister was appointed?
It turned out that:
The person affiliated to Minister of Justice of Armenia Rustam Badasyan (spouse Tatevik Sargsyan), upon appointment of Rustam Badasyan to a public position, in association with another person, established a trading company and has been directing the company ever since.
2. Did the person affiliated to Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan (Tatevik Sargsyan) also work as a member of the Staff of the National Assembly of Armenia and in the trading company?
It turned out that:
The person affiliated to the Minister of Justice (spouse Tatevik Sargsyan), while working as a member of the Staff of the National Assembly of Armenia (expert of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly), also held an administrative position in the trading company and, besides the salary from the National Assembly, received remuneration from that company.
3. Was Tatevik Sargsyan appointed expert in the office of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly without a competition?
It turned out that:
The person affiliated to Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan (Tatevik Sargsyan) was appointed an expert in the office of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia without a competition.
To lead a comprehensive, full and objective investigation, the Council has started gathering necessary information and stances of all interested persons and bodies and is conducting several inquiries and performing other necessary actions.
Notice: This conclusion was drawn up based on the results of preliminary studies conducted by the Council, meaning they are not final and are not inclined to be viewed as final circumstances.
