Arsen Torosyan on the Corruption Case Involving the Deputy Minister of Health

There are numerous companies in Armenia that import medical equipment and other supplies, and if there are anti-competitive agreements and monopolistic positions, this should be addressed by the Competition Protection Commission. This was stated by the Minister of Health of Armenia, Arsen Torosyan, during a conversation with journalists today, responding to their comments about alleged monopolies in the hemodialysis market and the efforts of the State Supervisory Service to break them.

“Monopolies in Armenia are addressed by the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition. I believe they should comment on the reports regarding the presence or absence of monopolies in the equipment import market,” said Arsen Torosyan.

Journalists inquired whether the ministry has tightened oversight mechanisms in light of the corruption case involving the Deputy Minister of Health. “We always monitor to exclude such occurrences. Unfortunately, we were unable to prevent this incident. This was a shock for us, not only for the ministry personnel but for the entire system,” stated Arsen Torosyan.

When asked why the presumption of innocence was considered in the case of the head of the State Supervisory Service, Davit Sanasaryan, and his powers were temporarily suspended, while in the case of the deputy minister, dismissal was applied, Arsen Torosyan noted that the position of the deputy minister is discretionary, and he can be dismissed at any time.

It is worth recalling that Deputy Minister of Health Arsen Davtyan was arrested by the National Security Service while allegedly receiving a bribe. Arsen Davtyan was appointed as Deputy Minister of Health by a decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on May 23, 2018. He has been accused of receiving a particularly large bribe.