Illegally enriched officials in Armenia to be jailed if proven guilty
Armenia’s National Assembly passed Thursday at the first reading amendments to the criminal code.
The amendments propose criminalization of illicit enrichment of officials implying AMD 5 million (around $10,000).
Presenting the amendments to the lawmakers, Arpine Hovhannisyan, justice minister, said that this AMD 5 million is the averaged ceiling. It means that enrichment by more than AMD 5 million will attract attention.
“Enrichment that considerably exceeds legal income and that is not justified properly will be considered illegal,” she said.
Besides, she said, all the receipt and lending transactions exceeding AMD 2 million will be made through noncash settlement.
In her opinion, this will enhance transparency of high-ranking officials’ income.
Offenders will be prosecuted and jailed for three to six years with seizure of their property and prohibition to hold particular positions.
Hovhanisyan said that the most disputable aspect is presumption of innocence. The fact of illicit enrichment must be proved and the official will has a chance to present his arguments.
The amendments come into force on July 1. 2017. Remarkable is that they don’t apply to those persons who scraped up their fortune before that, since this would contradict the Constitution, as the minister said.
The amended criminal code will oblige all officials to declare their income.
Eduard Sharmazanov, vice speaker, hailing these amendments, noted that the necessity of such legislative changes has already come to a head and declared that the Armenian authorities “have a good will to combat illicit enrichment”.
In his words, he finds it important to prevent all possible abuses.
”I am an all-or-nothing person I this issue, but a marathon begins from start, and these reforms should have continuation, but not come as a bludgeon for political repressions,” Sharmazanov declared. -0---