CORRUPTION VOLUME OF 450M USD IS INADMISSIBLE FOR ARMENIA HAVING BUDGET OF 2BN USD, DEPUTY HEAD OF RA NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE GENERAL DEPARTMENT ASSERTS
Noyan Tapan
Ju ne 9, 2008
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. As RA Prosecutor General evaluated, the
results of fighting corruption are insufficient in Armenia. "I do not
think there will be someone, who will make an attempt to prove that
corruption crimes indeed make 1-1.5 percents among general crimes in
Armenia: they are considerably more, the fact that we do not disclose
and discuss these crimes and people committing them is evidence of
our insufficient work," Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian stated at
the consultation on the subject Prevention, Disclosure and Discussion
of Corruption Crimes held in Vanadzor.
According to the data of Tigran Aghajanian, the Deputy Head of the RA
National Security Service General Department, according to the analysis
of international experts, corruption makes 5% GDP in Armenia that is
among countries with transitional economy, according to official data,
in 2007 GDP made 9bn USD, the above mentioned 5 percents made 450m
USD. "In a country, the budget of which makes 2bn, the above mentioned
corruption volume in drams and percentage is inadmissible proceeding
from elementary economic principles," T. Aghajanian stated. He also
said that the main factor contributing to corruption is shortcomings
in legislative norms, which permit unconscientious officials to act
to the detriment of state interests.
Legislative loop-holes are a legal obstacle and directly impede crimes’
disclosure and prevention. In the process of distribution of budget
resources, in particular, the sphere of state purchases is not free of
corruption phenomena, either, moreover, analyses show that there are
post-financial phenomena in the sphere, the rates of which fluctuate
between 7-10 percents, as well as monopoly organizations acting under
patronage have been formed. The representative of the National Security
Service said that comparative analyses show that the state purchases
volume has a tendency of growing: the volume made 55bn drams in 2006,
100bn drams in 2007, while in 2008 it will exceed 100bn.
A. Osikian, the Deputy Head of the State Tax Service under the RA
government, said that after introduction of practice of declaring RA
citizens’s property and incomes 5000 people have been called to account
for violations of requirements of law. According to the representative
of the Tax Service, the law does not ensure inclusion of proper circle
of people introducing a declaration: not all officials introduce a
declaration, a state official can register property got as a result
of abuse of state position by the names of his relatives, friends,
other people, who are not to introduce a declaration by the law.
The representative of the Tax Service also said that an official
examination to 160 tax servants was held in 2007, 132 were held in
2008. By the results of the examination, 292 tax servants were called
for disciplinary liability, 58 out of which were called for material
libility, 5 were dismissed from job.
In the words of the RA Prosecutor General, according to the data
of the first quarter of 2008, 51 cases connected with corruption
are examined: 11 in the Lori region, 2 cases in the Tavush region,
2 in the Gegharkunik region, 1 in the Vayots Dzor and Shirak regions,
no case connected with corruption has been instituted in the Kotayk,
Armavir, Aragatsotn regions.