A Serious Conversation Was Held with Rustam Badasyan; His Dismissal Question Is Closed: 'Joghourd'

'Joghourd' newspaper reports: According to information from 'Joghourd', political authorities have currently put an end to the issue of the dismissal of the head of the State Revenue Committee, Rustam Badasyan. However, it turns out that a rather serious conversation has taken place with Badasyan.

What could have caused such strong anger towards Badasyan and, in essence, a warning for him? On January 25 of this year, the National Security Service of Armenia uncovered numerous cases of bribery by officials of the State Revenue Committee. Specifically, officials of the State Revenue Committee did not take action against abuses committed by certain economic operators and from November 2022 to January 11, 2023, they demanded and received various amounts of bribes in Armenian dram or foreign currency, including large sums of money.

Based on the evidence indicating the commission of crimes during the preliminary investigation, public criminal prosecution has been initiated against 15 individuals under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia, with pre-trial detention chosen as the measure of restraint for 12 of them.

The revelation of this corruption scheme has raised questions regarding Badasyan's future in office; however, judging by the situation, he has been given time to rectify the situation, and for now, the question of his dismissal has been closed, as it has also been reported that Badasyan had no personal involvement in this corruption scheme.

Incidentally, yesterday Badasyan personally addressed the news regarding his dismissal, stating, 'No, I am not going anywhere. Where does this information come from?' He noted that he had not received any offer for a new position and had not submitted a resignation letter.

The full article is available in today's issue of 'Joghourd' newspaper.