Arsen Torosyan Received 11.5 Million Dram Bonus, Acquired Land in Tsaghkadzor: Declaration

It turns out that Arsen Torosyan, the head of the Prime Minister's office and former Minister of Health, considered one of the most trusted figures in Prime Minister Pashinyan's government, prefers to keep his money abroad. This information comes from an analysis of Torosyan's annual declaration published on the website of the Anti-Corruption Committee.

According to the declaration, the former minister purchased a bond worth €20,550 in January 2020 from an Austrian bank (Bank Austria), and received €428 in interest (income) at the end of the year.

The former minister has also declared a deposit of 32,000 US dollars, but the bank where this deposit is held is not specified. At the end of the year, the balance of Torosyan's bank accounts amounted to around 30,000 US dollars. It should be noted that if Torosyan had deposited his money in any bank in Armenia instead of the Austrian bonds, he would have earned at least €600 by the end of the year.

If the former minister has thought about diversifying his income by withdrawing a significant portion of his funds abroad, how can ordinary citizens trust the banking system of Armenia, especially the government?

By the way, in several countries (for example, Russia), public officials are prohibited from having assets abroad because those assets can become a factor of external influence on the official. Regarding the former minister's main income, when he served as Minister of Health, he received 18.6 million drams (after taxes) as salary. Comparing the amount of salary received with the official calculation factor prescribed by law for ministerial salary scales, it turns out that last year Torosyan received a bonus of about 11.5 million drams (after taxes).

Last year, this official also earned an additional 1,116 US dollars from a loan.

As for real estate, Torosyan has declared a residential house located in the Nor Nork administrative district of Yerevan, as well as a plot of land in the Tsaghkadzor community of Kotayk Province, which he acquired for 13.6 million drams in September 2020.