“By Mixing Wet with the Dry, You Are Dousing Their Achievements, Our and Your Years” – Businessman Samson Grigoryan

“Customs officers at the customs warehouses in Yerevan have written a letter to the head of the State Revenue Committee, Rustam Badasyan, expressing their indignation regarding his recent statements. The president had stated that the practice of placing 5,000-10,000 drams into the pocket of a customs officer as a 'thank you' still persists in the customs warehouses.

It is no secret to anyone that before the revolution, there were certain norms in the customs sector. Such norms were imposed on ordinary customs officers by the highest leadership. Through my efforts, we achieved significant changes in this sector. One cannot deny the contribution of honest customs officials in the difficult task of cleaning up the sector. Many corrupt actors have been removed from the system, and a significant number of corrupt businessmen have cleansed their customs declarations, bringing them into the white market,” wrote Samson Grigoryan, the leader of the “Suspension” movement, on Facebook.

“During this time, many officials worked under extremely overloaded and inappropriate working conditions. I have witnessed all of this and have raised the issue of the poor conditions in the customs warehouses multiple times. Is it fair to generalize and accuse customs officers of taking 5,000-10,000 drams? What about those customs officers who assisted us in driving out those who took thousands of dollars in bribes from the system? It is not fair. Anything is possible; I do not rule out that such exceptions still exist, and I am even convinced that they do—of course, not with such ridiculous figures. However, there are quite serious levers that can reveal and eliminate such cases within a matter of days.

Mr. Badasyan, by mixing wet with the dry, you are dousing their achievements, our and your years. One cannot break down an employee and trample them in this manner.

PS: Among the patrol officers, there are those who take money from drivers, and there are also witnesses and even arrested individuals. Should we declare that patrol officers are taking money? Of course not; let’s identify those few and cleanse them, so as not to compromise the work of the honest. Unthoughtful steps and inexperienced employees in the customs and tax sector are dangerous, as this isn't something one can get around with just a couple of obstacles. It will create issues concerning the security of the state budget, financial, and investment climate,” he concluded.