VIDEO. "There are corruption risks, but it is not yet corruption": Aghazaryan on the noise surrounding the relatives of Alen Simonyan and other officials

MP Hovik Aghazaryan from the ruling Civil Contract faction discussed with News.am the circulation of information regarding corrupt transactions connected to the names of Alen Simonyan's brother, Tigran Avinyan, Hrachya Hakobyan, and Suren Papikyan.

“Wherever the son or close relative of Hovik Aghazaryan, or Alen Simonyan’s brother, or the relatives of any other official must participate in some competition or tender, there will inevitably be a corruption risk; it cannot be avoided. The issue is whether that corruption risk transforms into a corruption transaction or fact. Here, both journalists and law enforcement agencies play a significant role in determining whether the corruption risk has transformed into corruption or not. However, I do not believe it is right to prohibit the relatives of high-ranking officials from participating in similar processes,” said the MP.

He firmly stated that there is no systemic corruption in Armenia. “It can happen that there are outward manifestations of such occurrences in Yerevan; it can also happen that some officials may take that step. I do not exclude that, but what is important is the attitude of the highest authority towards these manifestations. That attitude is clear and unequivocal; patronage in this sense is excluded. Naturally, if the brother of the Speaker of the National Assembly participates as the head of an economic entity in some competition, it is clear that questions will arise. What is important is how those questions are resolved. You see that members of our opponent's political family win competitions, and we receive more criticism from our teammates than from the opposite side,” he added.

When asked why the same logic did not apply to the previous authorities, and why they were all called thieves and corrupt officials, the Civil Contract MP responded: “We now have cases where economic entities, having won the competition, in one way or another, after carrying out the work, have approached the relevant authorities and offered to express their gratitude in the form of a previously determined amount of money or a kickback. We are aware that such things have occurred. Now, can you recall a case from the previous government where someone associated with a non-governmental team won a large tender? You cannot. Do you want me to list 20 cases where large tenders were won by our so-called political opponents' relatives? On the contrary, we say, let's make laws that enable ordinary, novice entrepreneurs to get involved. Now if Alen Simonyan's brother is appointed as the director of a relatively established company and participates in a competition, that means nothing,” he emphasized.

In response to criticism that many of those who came to power in 2018 had not worked elsewhere before, their declarations were in a zero state, yet now they have become owners of immense capital, Aghazaryan said, “Here too, there is a corruption risk, and it would be very good if we talked with examples about what was declared, and what it has become now. If you know such an example, please tell me, I will personally address the relevant authorities for my friend’s case to find out how he acquired some property over 3-4 years. That is very important to me.”

When reminded by a journalist that the names of Tigran Avinyan and Hrachya Hakobyan are mentioned, Aghazaryan said, “The business activity of Tigran Avinyan and his family was much more active before 2018 than it is now. As for Hrachya Hakobyan, if I know that he is involved in some serious corruption process, I will resign from my mandate.”