OVERSIGHT CHAMBER REVEALS A TOTAL OF 8.1 BILLION DRAMS OF MISAPPROPRIATIONS AND FINANCIAL ABUSES

ARKA
Oct 8, 2009

YEREVAN, October 8, /ARKA/. Members of Armenian parliament completed
Thursday consideration of the annual report of Armenia’s Oversight
Chamber for 2008 and took note of it.

The chairman of the Oversight Chamber, Ishkhan Zakarian, said his
subordinates revealed a total of 8.1 billion Drams of different
misappropriations and financial abuses in the public sector. According
to him, about 6 billion Drams were to be recovered.

He said about 1.4 billion Drams of misappropriated money had been
recovered already to local and national budgets and 3.6 billion must
be recovered.

According to him, in 2008 the Oversight Chamber’s inspectors had
scrutinized only 4% of government subsidies. He said the Chamber’s
investigation was focused on the financial operations of ministries,
governors’ offices and local governments. He said the findings were
submitted to the office of prosecutor general, that launched five
criminal cases into the revealed financial abuses.

He said the most frequent breaches are inflating the cost of projects,
selling land plots at steeply cheap prices and reselling them at much
higher prices and payment for undone work.

Chairman of the parliament committee on financial and crediting
issues Gagik Minasian praised the Oversight Chamber for good work and
presenting an all-embracing report about revealed breach es. ($1 –
385.64 Drams)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress