Armenia’s Investigative Committee has spent 49 million drams ($125,000) on a new Toyota LandCruiser 300 SUV for its head, Argishti Kyaramian, a government ally. The agency justified the purchase, claiming Kyaramian’s old limousine was outdated and urgently needed replacement. Spokesman Gor Abrahamian cited the “specificities and difficulties” of Kyaramian’s job and security concerns as reasons for the costly new vehicle.
However, Varuzhan Hoktanian, from Armenia’s leading anti-corruption watchdog affiliated with Transparency International, criticized the acquisition as wasteful, especially given Armenia’s severe socioeconomic and security issues. He argued it showed a lack of “sense of statehood.”
Kyaramian, 33, a trusted aide of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has led the Investigative Committee since 2021 and previously held several high-level positions in the security apparatus since Pashinyan took power in 2018.
This purchase comes amid similar criticism of Pashinyan’s government, which recently decided to buy 49 more vehicles for officials, costing over 1 billion drams ($2.7 million), without explanation. Pashinyan, who once criticized the excessive number of government cars, has not reduced this fleet during his six-year rule. Instead, he has faced backlash for acquiring more expensive vehicles for his and his family’s security detail.
