Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

The specter of corruption is a bugaboo that Armenia is not able to shake.

Recently an Armenian opposition journalist informed in his article referring to a secret organization called “Mqeri dur” that illicit money in the amount of $17 billion had been out flawed from the country since 1994.

Predominant oligarchy in Armenia, which is represented mainly by the state officials, may well affect the growth in the amount of illegal money takeout. For instance, according to declarations by the parliamentarians, there are 19 millionaire legislators in the Armenian parliament. Since the constitution bans the public servants from engaging in any business activity, tycoons of the poor country (32.3 percent poverty rate in 2015) turn to illegal ways of saving their fortune from the rule of law.

The Global Competitiveness Report 2015 unveiled the oligarchy-controlled monopoly in Armenia, ranking the former Soviet nation 105th among 144 countries in terms of the effectiveness of antitrust policy.

The enormous numbers of stolen money indicate on the high rank of its owners as ordinary businessmen or officials simply could not do it, bypassing the government.

For small and economically disadvantaged Armenia $17 billion is a huge amount of money that could help to “save” the economy. In fact, stealing such assets of money from the country can be classified as crimes against the nation.

These funds, if they stay in the country, could provide economic development and effective social protection systems as well as health services, job places, and much more. However, the country's rulers prefer looting of resources, the accumulation of personal wealth at the expense of ordinary citizens, forcing them to leave the country in a hope to better life.

Against the backdrop of the crisis in every sphere, the country continues to get multi-million-dollar loans while having no ability to “shut” them. Part of the funds is spent on the repayment and servicing of previous debts, part of it is allocated to unnecessary projects.

Polls conducted among country residents have repeatedly showed that people do not see any future in Armenia either for themselves or for their children.

The public realizes that almost half of the current Armenian government officials are oligarchs who utilize their power to expand their own businesses.

The latest report from Transparency International on People and Corruption: Europe and Central Asia published on November 17 indicates that more than 35 percent of Armenian citizens questioned, responded that corruption and bribery was one of the three biggest problems that its government should address.

While successive Armenian governments have promised to deal with the problem and despite an Anti-Corruption Council being set up by former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, almost two in three citizens (60 percent) believe that the government is not doing enough to tackle corruption.

Armenia ranked 95th out of 168 countries that were evaluated in Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Its ranking has barely changed over the past decade.

Although the Armenian authorities deny it, the reports and surveys of International Organizations are a clear proof of how the country is corrupt.

Despite Sargsyan’s recent public speeches about his desire to get rid of corruption in Armenia, the actions of the president and members of his inner circle have frequently contradicted his anti-corruption rhetoric.

The Armenian state budget, not surprisingly, also faced decrease this year. In the first seven months of the current year, revenues of the Armenian state budget made up approximately 633.4 billion drams ($1.33 billion), while the expenses were 717.2 billion drams ($1.51 billion), according to the official statistical data.

The revenues of Armenian state budget decreased by 2.2 billion drams ($4.64 million) or 0.3 percent compared to the same period of last year.

Thus, it is obvious that the public money in Armenia are misused by the government – while the money leaves the country, the majority of Armenians, thanks to the country’s authorities, have no choice but to live under sorrowful conditions.

Hence, the dominance of corrupted government, implementing aggressive policy, monopolies and oligarchic structures remain a major obstacle on the way of economic survival of the country.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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