The government staff led by the Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, purchase goods and services from the Companies belonging to the Prime Minister’s relatives by marriage Gagik and Javahir Tsarukyan’s Companies. Similarly, the RA Ministry of Finance (Minister Gagik Khachatryan) realizes procurement form the Companies of the Minister’s relatives. Iravaban.net has referred to these problematic procurement issues, which include conflict of interests earlier
Specifically, we wrote that on 9 October, 2015, the Government Staff signed an agreement with “Onira Club” Company for the provision of food services. 4 million 223 thousand AMD (about 9,000 USD) was paid. In August 2015, the Ministry of Finance bought sport accessories for 45.2 million AMD or 95 thousand USD from “Megasport” Company, which belonged to Armen Nazaryan, the cousin of the Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan.
We drew attention of Commission on Ethics of High-Ranking Officials of Armenia to these issues, as Article 30 of the RA Law on Public Service provides: “For a high-ranking public official, being guided by his/her interests or those of persons related to him/her means taking such action or adopting such a decision (including taking part in decision-making within a collegial body) within the scope of powers of a high-ranking public official, which, although lawful, results or contributes or may reasonably result or contribute, inter alia, to: 1) the increase of his/her financial resources or income or improvement of the property or other legal status of or those of the persons related to him/her or the non-commercial organization of which s/he is a member or the commercial organization of which s/he is a participant; 15 2) discharge or reduction of his/her obligations, or those of persons related to him/her or the non-commercial organization of which s/he is a member or the commercial organization of which s/he
is a participant; 3) appointment of a person related to him/her to a position or assuming of the membership in an organization; 4) winning in a competition by a person related to him/her.”
Referring to Hovik Abrahamyan, the Ethics Commission replied that according to the state register of legal entities, the participants of “Onira Club” are Gagik and Javahir Tsarukyans, “Multi Group” Trust. But these people are not interrelated to Hovik Abrahamyan by the law.
Specifically, according to Article 5, Point 16 of the RA Law on Public Service, persons related to a high-ranking public official: persons having blood relationship of up to the 2nd degree of kinship. Persons having blood relationship with a high-ranking public official of up to the 2nd degree of kinship are the persons within the 1st degree of kinship, as well as persons within the 1st degree of kinship with the latter. Persons within the 1st degree of kinship are the children, parents, sisters and brothers.
“The issue of conflict of interest regarding Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan cannot be considered referring to this Company, as its participants Gagik and Javahir Tsarukyans are relatives by marriage with H. Abrahamyan, and pursuant to Article 5, Point 16 of the RA Law on Public Service are not persons having blood relationship of up to the 2nd degree of kinship,” replied the Commission on Ethics to the inquiry of Iravaban.net and added that there were no grounds for initiating corresponding proceedings.
The Commission provides the same reasoning in case of the Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan, “According to the logic of this provision of the law, persons related to a high-ranking public official are: the official’s and the official’s spouse’s children, parents, sisters and brothers (the 1st degree of kinship), as well as the official’s and the official’s spouse’s children’s children (grandchildren), parents’ parents (grandparents) the parents’ sisters and brothers (uncles and aunts), the sisters’ and brothers’ children (the 2nd degree of kinship).”
In this case Armen Nazaryan, the 100 percent owner of “Megasport” Company, is Gagik Khachatryan’s cousin, which means that there is no kinship of the 2nd degrees. And thus there were no grounds for initiating corresponding proceedings.
In fact we have such legislative grounds that even in the matter of simple logic of obvious conflict of interest
In fact, such legal grounds are created that for the simple logic it is not the obvious conflicts of interests, and in this case the only way out are the legislative changes. It should be proposed to expand the scope of interrelated persons of high-ranking officials, and include their cousins, daughters-in-law or sons-in-law and their parents as well.
Astghik Karapetyan
