A New Uprising is Brewing in the Investigative Bodies of Armenia

The newspaper "Zhoghvorud" reports: "A new uprising is brewing in the investigative bodies of Armenia, this time social in nature. The newly formed Anti-Corruption Committee, established on the basis of the Special Investigative Service, is better funded. Investigators of the Anti-Corruption Committee receive an average monthly salary of 1 million drams, while investigators in the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia earn about 300,000 to 350,000 drams per month. Investigators from the State Revenue Committee and the National Security Service also receive between 300,000 to 350,000 drams.

Now, investigators working in these bodies are raising questions of justice—why should the fight against corruption be prioritized and valued higher by the state in the form of higher salaries, while solving murders is considered secondary? This implies that for the state, a person’s life is of secondary importance, while the fight against corruption is of primary concern, for which no expense is spared. Many investigators have voiced in our conversations that operators are doing serious work in solving cases but receive low salaries similar to those of investigators. If this is the attitude, they will also work according to their compensation, and the consequences of this will negatively impact the state.

Moreover, alongside this reality, the Armenian government is discussing a 120% salary increase for prosecutors and the Chief Prosecutor. Why is this unjust approach happening? In response to this question from the "Zhoghvorud" newspaper, Justice Minister Karen Andreasian stated that salaries in the newly established Anti-Corruption Court and the Anti-Corruption Committee are higher than in the anti-corruption division of the prosecutor's office, which is the intermediate link between the court and the committee. He explained, "Therefore, it was becoming illogical that committee investigators were receiving higher salaries than prosecutors, who would be engaged in anti-corruption work. We proposed that prosecutors' salaries be higher, but if we set the salary of the head of the relevant department of the Prosecutor General’s Office in line with an investigator and judge, it turned out that the head of the department should earn more than the Chief Prosecutor and his deputies".

According to the minister, the presented legislative initiative did not discuss the issue of increasing any official's salary, but only sought to ensure that increases in the more complex and risk-filled anti-corruption system were logical. "That is why we have put it forward for discussion; we aren't officially insisting that this is the best solution yet," said Andreasian.

For more details, see the newspaper’s current issue.