Pashinyan Lacks Understanding of Many Professional Matters: Hovhannisyan on the Banking Secrecy Bill

The founder of the public organization 'Legal Education and Oversight' and former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Arpine Hovhannisyan, addressed the proposed amendments to the 'Banking Secrecy Law', which received government approval yesterday.

She wrote: 'Yesterday, the Government approved a package of legislative proposals that allows for the acquisition of banking secrecy information concerning individuals who are not suspects or defendants in a number of criminal cases. First, I want to express my respect for Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan's behavior (I don't know how well his team will receive this), who tried to explain to the end that this is an extremely dangerous project for the state, adhering to his role as an expert in the field. He knows the consequences that this will lead to, from withdrawing deposits to losing the potential perspective of non-existent investments. The discussion that took place at the Government session raised significant concerns.

'The fact that Nikol Pashinyan does not understand many professional matters has become a commonplace occurrence. The Prime Minister himself admits that the banking system is complex, and he discusses the project using examples that are the easiest for him to understand, such as the wiretapping of phone conversations. A complex issue is projected onto a simple example, and discussions begin. This is epic incompetence. This means that the Prime Minister approves regulations about which he has no understanding of the long-term implications. Well, don't you want to conduct an expert examination? Who is supposed to discuss this comprehensively? He has really been convinced that this is related to corruption, and he believes it and repeats it. Therefore, these people have considered marine pollution as corrupt while they have not considered illegal fishing, which is regarded around the world as a manifestation of organized crime. Where is your logic?

'It is also not surprising that the Prosecutor General and the Chair of the Investigative Committee are fundamentally in favor of the proposal. Which representative of the law enforcement system would not want to stick their nose into someone else's bank accounts and learn information without exerting minimal effort? By the way, considering the charges presented against the Prosecutor General in the National Assembly, perhaps it is worth publishing one's own bank accounts to become more convincing to the public.

'The fact that the Ministry of Justice is fighting for the existence of this bill is not surprising, as the young minister loves to tailor everything to align with his little experience. For instance, if banking secrecy information can be obtained from the Financial Monitoring Center in cases not initiated in the PC, now a project can be brought that corresponds to that logic. The weakest and most passive stance in this entire story is that of the Central Bank's president, who, without having answered the question of how various banking data ends up in the Prime Minister's hands, played merely a episodic role in this discussion, fully defending the Government's position. It seemed as if Arthur Javadyan, the President of the Central Bank, is not responsible for the financial stability of the country.

'Regarding guarantees, I want to mention one thing… especially to my honest and dedicated colleagues working at the Central Bank: aside from the fact that you have only presented and ensured a one-sided, superficially balanced approach, do you really believe that this will serve its purpose and will not be abused? In reality, I want to say… it’s a pity, gentlemen, a great pity.'