The agenda of the special session of the National Assembly is the election of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. MP Ararat Zurabyan asked Nikol Pashinyan, the only candidate for Prime Minister, about the return of assets to Armenia.  Nikol Pashinyan said in his reply:

“I have said in my speech that it is very important to increase the effectiveness of the declaration mechanisms. In essence, this institution gives us the opportunity for the people not to have a full understanding of the state official’s property and its movement.”

He noted that the main corruption scandals are related to the property hidden in offshore zones; and in a number of states there is such a mechanism when a high-ranking official authorise the state to seek worldwide to find the assets of the individual, so that the people know that the official; is not accumulating assets not only in Armenia, but also outside of Armenia.

According to him, it is often say that perhaps the person does not want to provide such a power, “If he does not want, then he should not be a government official.”

The other option to control the possession of illicit assets is to have a free press.

“The next is the existence of a universal anti-corruption body. This is being discussed, we have had it in our pre-election program and could discuss it for different reasons.

Notably, the anti-corruption section of the pre-electoral program of “Yelk” states: “The Commission on Ethics of High-Ranking Officials of Armenia will be dissolved and an independent, universal anti-corruption body will be established.”

This clause was included on the recommendation of the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenian, and the creation of this body can actually provide the return of assets obtained through illicit enrichment to Armenia.

It should be noted that the Coalition recently issued a statement on the launch of large-scale and radical anti-corruption reforms:

For the purpose of compensation of damages caused to the Republic of Armenia as a result of corruption; prompt introduction of Asset Recovery Institute, within the framework of which it is necessary to undertake the process of returning the assets withdrawn from Armenia as a result of corruption to the RA state budget, involving the RA Central Bank, the RA Prosecutor’s Office, law enforcement bodies and the public and at the same time to exclude the current outflow of assets from the territory of the RA.

1. For the purpose to eliminate the atmosphere of impunity in the country;the prompt detection of cases of illicit enrichment and the formation of a independent public experts panel within the coalition, which will be aimed at analyzing the declaration of property, income and conflict of interests submitted by officials, revealing cases of illicit enrichment and transferring them to the RA General Prosecutor’s Office for initiating criminal cases.
2. For the purpose to gain public confidence in the fight against corruption;ensuring the legality, transparency and accountability for the election of the Competition Board Members: President of the Constitutional Court, Human Rights Defender, the oppositional factions of the National Assembly, the Public Council, Chamber of Advocates for the election of the members of newly formed Corruption Prevention Committee. Exclusion of mechanical reproduction of members of the Commission on Ethics of High-Ranking Officials, and selection of professional candidates having relevant anti-corruption experience and committed to integrity and anti-corruption values.
3. For the purpose of effective fight against corruption;Establishing an Anti-Corruption Multifunctional Universal Body Based on the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Republic of Armenia, which in addition to educational and preventive functions in the fight against corruption, will be endowed with the function of conducting preliminary investigation, including the authority to conduct operative-investigative activities.
4. For the purpose of fight against monopolies and dominating positions;Implementation of anti-corruption audit by an independent audit selected by the RA Anti-Corruption Commission from the commercial companies,; Establishing a Register of beneficial Owners and maintaining the Registry.
5. For the purpose to combat political corruption in the elections; Implementation of radical anti-corruption reforms of the RA Electoral Code, RA Law on Political Parties, and the RA Criminal Code.
6. For the purpose to combat corruption in the judicial system;the creation of a specialized court or a specialized tribunal on corruption cases, through the reform of human resources.