“Excuse Me, No One Gives or Receives Bribes in Cash,” Says Pashinyan on Reducing Cash Circulation

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Anti-Corruption Committee today and attended an event dedicated to the Day of the Anti-Corruption Committee Employee and the first anniversary of the establishment of the organization. Attendees included Director of the National Security Service Armen Abazyan, Chief of Police Vahe Ghazaryan, Head of the State Oversight Service Romanos Melikyan, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan, President of the Supreme Judicial Council Karen Andreasyan, Chairman of the Investigative Committee Arghisti Kyaramyan, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan, representatives of the leadership of the Anti-Corruption Committee, investigators, and other officials.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Pashinyan also addressed the increase in cashless transactions and the reduction of cash circulation. “I want to especially emphasize, this aspect often goes unnoticed, but for example, legislation on reducing cash circulation is significantly important in the fight against corruption, because, excuse me, no one gives or receives bribes in cash. Although the case of cryptocurrencies has already been mentioned, in any case, that can be traced and made more visible,” Pashinyan stated.

He noted that significant anti-corruption institutions have been established in the Republic of Armenia. “Yes, we were constantly working on this in 2018 and 2019, but also, let’s say, one government or authority may have a stronger will to fight corruption, while another government may have less will. It is crucial that the level of the fight against corruption in the country does not depend solely on the will of individuals, because there will always be differences, but overall, there should be a baseline that the anti-corruption fight in the country cannot fall below,” he added.

Pashinyan emphasized that current challenges and previous reasons for insufficient depth in the fight against corruption should not allow for excuses. “Today, despite the Anti-Corruption Committee not being fully staffed, meaning there are still vacant positions, it is clear that there are still difficulties in the work, but I want to say that we, before the public and ourselves, we are part of the public and let’s not differentiate ourselves from the public, we have now formed all the institutional foundations. If earlier it was said that there were legislative barriers, starting from banking secrecy to other issues, illegal asset confiscation, and so forth, all those mechanisms are now in place. Speaking at the occasion of the Anti-Corruption Committee’s day, I want to say, not only about the Anti-Corruption Committee but overall, we now need to show very concrete results,” he noted.

Pashinyan expressed hope that sufficient legal reforms have been made to create precedents and move processes forward appropriately, emphasizing that “there is no previous and current government in the application of the law regarding corruption and other cases. Equality before the law must be implemented unconditionally for everyone,” he stated.