Armenian Defense Ministry accused of misappropriation of budget funds of Armenia

The Armenian Defense Ministry is engaged in misappropriation of budget funds of Armenia, Artak Manukyan, public procurement expert at the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, told reporters on March 30. Deputy Head of the Anti- Corruption Center Sona Ayvazyan said for her part that a working group has been set up within the Defense Ministry to study the Organization's report on the corruption risks in the defense sector of Armenia.     

In Sona Ayvazyan's word, the defense sector of Armenia triggered the Anti-Corruption Center's interest in 2011 in the light of the frequent death cases in the army. "At that time, the ban on discussion of corruption and other problems in the army was lifted. The surveys showed that the defense ministry has serious problems related to growth of corruption risks," she said.         

The problems the Anti-Corruption Center has registered in the public procurement conducted by the Defense Ministry include low level of publicity, growth of the share of purchases from one supplier without a relevant transparent tender, conclusion of private framework agreements with universal companies working in almost all provinces, etc. Transparency International also points out corruption risks in alienation of the property, which is under the Armenian Defense Ministry's jurisdiction. The Organization's report says that the alienated property is sold at a much lower price as a rule and there are no mechanisms controlling the financial capacities and implementation of the investment commitments.  The Anti-Corruption Center experts call for transparency and publicity. They also stress the need to improve the legislation related to the control over the public procurement process at the Armenian Defense Ministry. 

Chairman of the Public Council under the Armenian Defense Ministry Gegham Harutyunyan told reporters that it is theoretically impossible to rule out corruption in the public procurement field. He also pointed out the need to consider every particular case individually.     

To recall, earlier the experts of the Anti-Corruption Center said that 70% of the public procurement in Armenia is conducted without a relevant tender. When presenting the analysis of the tenders for 2015, the experts said that the share of purchases from one entity shall not exceed 2-3% of total purchases, according to the WB criteria. At the same time, out of nearly 262 bln AMD (11,089 tenders on e-gov.am) the purchases without a tender totaled 183 bln AMD (nearly $373 mln) or 70% of the total amount.