‘I have not thanked anyone in the form of money,’ Samvel Aleksanyan on controversial video

A video has circulated online showing former MP Samvel Aleksanyan pulling money from his pocket on the day of the ‘Malatia Mall’ fire and giving it to an individual, who then attempts to hand the money to one of the police officers.

When Aravot.am inquired about the reason for the money transfer and whether it was a bribe, Aleksanyan responded, ‘100 people came, someone said they would go buy water, another said they would go buy bread, and I gave money to everyone, they are our guys. I said to one of them, 'Go fill up gas in our car,' my car was carrying water, and I filled gas in my car.’

Regarding the fact that the video records someone placing money in a police officer's pocket, Samvel Aleksanyan stated that he has not seen the video, nor does he know who attempted to place money into the officer’s pocket and for what reason. He insisted that he did not give money to the police officer: ‘At that moment, during that fire, I don’t remember who that young man you mentioned was or what money he tried to transfer to the police officer. I haven’t thanked anyone in the form of money, I haven’t taken anyone to ‘Parvana’ restaurant, I just have my head a bit dizzy, we’ll have a piece of bread with those good guys.’

The police have issued a clarification regarding the circulated video, stating, ‘A video has been spread online showing a man attempting to place something into the pocket of a police officer performing duty at the scene of the Malatia Mall fire. The video has been examined by the police, and based on the order of the chief of police, an internal security investigation is underway. Additional information will be provided regarding the results.’

Samvel Aleksanyan noted that he has not been summoned for questioning, and he is unaware of what is being discussed.