The United States Supports Armenia with $9.5 Million, Says Deputy Minister Suren Grigoryan

The U.S. government is supporting Armenia's efforts to combat corruption by allocating $9.5 million through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This announcement was made today during the conference titled "Priorities of Armenia's Anti-Corruption Policy," which marked the launch of the "Good Governance in Armenia" program, attended by Deputy Minister of Justice Suren Grigoryan.

According to the press service of the Armenian Ministry of Justice, the program aims to reduce opportunities for corruption and strengthen public demand for improved governance and accountability in Armenia.

Attendees at the program's launch included U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy, Chairwoman of the Anti-Corruption Commission Haikouhi Harutyunyan, parliament members, representatives of civil society, and others. In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Grigoryan expressed gratitude for the invitation and welcomed the program's launch on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

In the context of developing the institutional framework for anti-corruption policy, the deputy minister presented the process of forming the Anti-Corruption Committee, regulations on prosecutorial oversight of the legality of criminal proceedings concerning corrupt offenses, and the formation process of the anti-corruption court.

Grigoryan also addressed recent work conducted in the field of corruption prevention, noting that the introduction of a declaration system has expanded the circle of declarants. It has introduced requirements for declaring expenditures and properties under actual ownership and reduced the monetary threshold for declaring expensive property from 8 million to 4 million drams.

The legislative package adopted to reveal the real beneficiaries of legal entities was also emphasized, which will be gradually implemented to require disclosure of real beneficiaries.

In conclusion, Grigoryan added that within the framework of anti-corruption policy priorities, education, public awareness programs, and the introduction of necessary tools for effectively detecting corrupt offenses are also essential.