By Naira Bulghadarian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) again raided the headquarters of Yerevan’s municipal administration on Tuesday, May 20, arresting two more officials working there.
A spokeswoman for the law-enforcement agency, Marina Ohanjanyan, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that ACC investigators carried out “evidentiary actions” there. She said the arrested officials are suspected of taking bribes but refused to name them or give other details of the criminal investigation.
Investigators also searched in the morning the offices of a government agency tasked with monitoring construction and fire safety and detained two of its officials on similar corruption charges. It was not clear whether the two raids were interconnected.
A total of five municipal officials have been arrested on corruption charges so far this year. At least two other corruption inquiries were launched into senior Yerevan officials last year. They include the head of the city’s Arabkir district, who is reportedly a figure close to Mayor Tigran Avinyan.
Avinyan’s two deputies downplayed the latest arrests, saying that the alleged bribery is not indicative of the overall state of affairs inside the municipality.
