Yerevan Deputy Mayor Gevorg Simonian Arrested for Two Months

The court has granted the investigator's motion to arrest Gevorg Simonian, the Deputy Mayor of Yerevan. This information has been confirmed by the Anti-Corruption Committee. Simonian will remain in custody for two months.

Earlier, the Anti-Corruption Committee issued a statement regarding Gevorg Simonian, who held the position of Deputy Minister of Health from 2020 to 2022. He is accused of failing to exercise adequate oversight in the distribution of state funding, having a godfather-godson relationship with the director of the ‘Medline’ clinic. This negligence allegedly allowed Babken Shahumyan to embezzle approximately 120 million drams.

During the coronavirus pandemic, 11 individuals were arrested in connection with the abuses, including Yerevan Deputy Mayor Gevorg Simonian.

Babken Shahumyan, the director of the ‘Medline’ medical center, has already been arrested, while L. E., head of the Immunology Department at the National Center for Tuberculosis, has been placed under house arrest as an alternative measure.