Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian has announced his resignation on Wednesday, following the arrest of one of his deputies and other officials on corruption charges, which he vehemently denied.
Kerobian cited numerous disagreements with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during his tenure of over three years. In a Facebook post, he reflected on his assumption of the ministerial role in November 2020, expressing his initial uncertainty about the duration of his tenure due to the possibility of political changes in Armenia. Despite facing disagreements, Kerobian stated his commitment to serving the country to the best of his abilities.
While Kerobian did not elaborate on the specific disagreements, he addressed the recent arrests of senior officials from the Ministry of Economy in connection with corruption investigations conducted by Armenia’s Investigative Committee and National Security Service (NSS). These officials were subsequently placed under house arrest or released.
One official was accused of facilitating the improper allocation of state agribusiness funding, amounting to 238 million drams ($590,000), between 2022 and 2023. Notably, none of the officials implicated were charged with bribery or embezzlement, a point emphasized by Kerobian during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pashinyan.
Kerobian expressed concern to Pashinyan regarding the impact of the investigations on the state system, suggesting that the uncertainty surrounding honest work could impede government operations.
The investigations centered on state funding allocated to support private entrepreneurs in establishing intensive fruit orchards. The Ministry of Economy, under Kerobian’s leadership, extended the program by two years on February 8 and defended its handling of the scheme.
Kerobian’s resignation coincided with an announcement by the Investigative Committee indicating ongoing investigations into the alleged misuse of the funding scheme, with the possibility of identifying and prosecuting additional individuals involved.
Initially, Kerobian had resisted resigning following the arrests but expressed willingness to accept responsibility pending the outcome of the investigations.
Another criminal case pertains to a procurement tender organized by the Ministry of Economy, which was annulled by a court last summer. Ministry officials were accused of improperly disqualifying an information technology company to favor another bidder. The founder of the winning firm, Synergy International Systems, was also arrested along with current and former employees.
The continued detention of the founder, Ashot Hovanesian, prompted criticism from legal experts and industry associations, including Armenia’s Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE), which denounced what it deemed as arbitrary detentions detrimental to the country’s business climate.
