Former Mayor of Artik Transferred Millions from Community Budget to Son-in-Law's Company

According to ‘Zhoghovurd’ daily, citizens continue to report concerning and surprising news regarding the actions of current and former officials in the enlarged community of Artik. Our sources indicate that former mayor Arsen Abrahamyan, who recently served as the secretary of the Shirak Regional Administration, is now actively contesting the position of the community leader. Abrahamyan is primarily known among the residents of Artik as someone who previously served as the head of the social protection department. As one local humorously remarked during our conversation, “Those were the good times when all social protection heads could become millionaires.”

Regardless, according to the residents, during his time as the head of the social protection service, Abrahamyan managed to privatize part of the administration building of the Artik municipality. Then, when he was elected as mayor, he somehow leased that space back to the municipality.

Memories of Abrahamyan among the residents do not stop there; locals recount that after being elected mayor, he decided to purchase a service vehicle from the meager municipal budget. In reality, according to rumors, he used his own money and bought the car under his nephew Aleksan's name, later transferring a large sum from the municipality for the vehicle's purchase. Additionally, residents mentioned that his nephew is included on his electoral list.

Even more astonishing is the story involving Abrahamyan's brother, Anushavan, who held the position of director of municipal economy and reportedly received a salary for five years without actually attending work. According to local sources and investigations among the residents, he simultaneously held another position, claiming to spend his days at the bus station, and most likely, according to sources, did not attend work regularly while still receiving payments from the registered workplace. Moreover, it appears that his son, who was a council member at the time, actually performed the tasks on behalf of his father, raising serious concerns about the integrity of local governance.

Lastly, there is an intriguing situation involving Abrahamyan's son-in-law, Arman Jgnavorian. It turns out that at one point, the mayor's son-in-law transferred millions of dram to his brother-in-law’s company for unspecified purchases. Overall, our impression of the state of the streets of Artik, the marked lines, and the citizens' future confidence was quite disheartening—a small town where it seems nothing has been done for the past 30 years.