In Armenia, untying of "Gordian knot" of robbery began in 2019, $4.2 billion returned to the budget - Prime Minister

YEREVAN, April 15. /ARKA/. The process of creating a system to untangle the "Gordian knot" of robbery in Armenia began in 2019, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated.

"This work has been carried out consistently and on principle. To recover what was stolen, it's crucial to understand the location and mechanisms of the theft. First and foremost, these include the shadow economy, artificial monopolies, and tax evasion," Pashinyan said on Tuesday in parliament, presenting a report on the implementation and outcomes of the government's 2021–2026 program for the year 2024.

According to him, illegally acquired property worth more than $1.7 billion is currently under arrest following completed criminal investigations and court proceedings, and thus cannot be disposed of.

"Thanks to the fight against looting, $4.2 billion has been added to the state budget. I promised that after the Velvet Revolution, Armenia would not be a place of vendettas, it would be a country governed by the rule of law, where stolen assets would be returned and the guilty would be held accountable," Pashinyan reminded.

The Prime Minister emphasized, "We do not intend to turn Armenia into a black hole of lawlessness on the world map. Our goal is to ensure the irreversibility and institutionalization of the rule of law." He assured that illegally obtained assets are "being recovered piece by piece and will continue to be returned to Armenia and its people."

According to Pashinyan, these assets belong to former presidents, ministers, community leaders, their family members, or affiliated individuals. He specifically named the Golden Palace Hotel in Tsaghkadzor, the AOKS building and the Noratus radio center in Yerevan, as well as land plots worth several billion drams in the capital and regions.
($1 = 390.92 drams)