Armenia’s Minister of Economy, Vahan Kerobyan, has resigned in the wake of a scandal that shook the Ministry.
Two weeks ago, Armenia’s NSS and Criminal Investigation Department detained seven individuals, including the Deputy Minister of Economy, Ani Ispiryan, who had been dismissed a day earlier by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The officials from the Ministry of Economy are alleged to have assisted their favored participant in winning the “Establishment of the Bank of Public Investment Projects” competition. Currently, the former Deputy, along with two representatives of the winning company, is under house arrest, while the founder and director of the company are detained for two months.
In his resignation post on Facebook, Kerobyan stated, “When I assumed the post of minister on November 20, 2020, there was a high probability that I would stay there for a few days or months: the possibility of a change of power was very high. During this period, due to many disagreements, I wanted to leave this job many times, but I’ve subordinated myself in order to maximize the value of my service to my country.”