A spokeswoman for the law-enforcement agency, Marina Ohanjanian, 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 are 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 Avinian.
Avinian’s two deputies downplayed the latest arrests, saying that the alleged bribery is not indicative of the overall state of affairs inside the municipality.
“[The ruling party] Civil Contract and our administration don’t hide anyone or encourage corruption, and all people engaged in corrupt practices are punished,” one of them, Levon Hovannisian told reporters.
Hovannisian and the other vice-mayor, Suren Grigorian, claimed that they do not know who the arrested officials are. Grigorian urged the press to respect their presumption of innocence.
Izabella Abgarian, a member of the city council representing the opposition National Progress party, said the regular corruption inquires and resulting arrests testify to the municipality’s flawed staffing policy and a lack of “internal oversight.”
“Frequent corruption cases is a sign that the ruling force cannot properly control officials,” Abgarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The other opposition group represented in the city council, the Mother Armenia bloc, is even more critical of the municipal authorities, saying that Avinian and his entourage themselves are mired in corruption.