An Armenian court has declined to consider Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan’s defamation lawsuit against a media outlet that accused him and his family of amassing wealth through questionable means.
The investigation, conducted by Civilnet.am in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), scrutinized the Avinyan family’s business holdings. A November report suggested that the mayor’s meteoric rise following Armenia’s 2018 “Velvet Revolution” coincided with the financial success of businesses linked to his relatives.
The report specifically highlighted an agribusiness company owned by Avinyan’s father and brother, which reportedly benefited from government contracts, grants, and loan subsidies during Avinyan’s tenure as deputy prime minister from 2018 to 2021. Avinyan dismissed the allegations as baseless and vowed to sue Civilnet.am during a live debate with his predecessor and political rival, Hayk Marutyan.
On Wednesday, the court announced that it would not proceed with the case unless Avinyan paid a filing fee of 150,000 drams (approximately $380). The mayor requested a fee waiver, claiming the expense would impose “significant financial hardship” on him and his family. The court rejected the appeal and set a three-day deadline for payment.
The mayor’s office has not confirmed whether Avinyan plans to pay the fee.
The claim of financial hardship has raised eyebrows, particularly in light of Avinyan’s reported earnings. His monthly salary is 1.2 million drams ($3,000), and his official annual income totals 45 million drams. Additionally, the 35-year-old Civil Contract party member has declared cryptocurrency holdings exceeding $350,000.
The controversy comes on the heels of another financial scandal involving Avinyan. On Monday, he pledged to reimburse the nearly 7.7 million drams ($19,500) spent by the Yerevan municipality on his business-class flight to and from Los Angeles. The expense, which sparked outrage among opposition groups and media outlets, has further fueled public scrutiny of the mayor’s financial practices.
