YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. Arpine Hovhannisyan, former vice-speaker at the Armenian parliament and former justice minister, has accused the Central Bank of Armenia of undermining Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s rule by supporting his initiative of seizure of illegally acquired property without charge or trial.
On March 1, 2019, she said, Pashinyan established a working group to organize discussions for putting the concept worked out by the central bank into practice.
Hovhannisyan wrote on her Facebook page that nobody has taken any notice of this news, while this is “a delayed-action bomb not only for Armenia’s statehood, but also for Nikol Pashinyan’s rule”.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wants to return stolen property and financial resources and use them for developing the country.
Hovhannisyan declared on her Facebook page that “she finds this intention good”, but she is unhappy about the proposed scheme.
In her opinion, not only criminals, but also persons in Armenia and abroad who have nothing in common with them will face problems.
She also said that the existence of such institutions would show “the law enforcement agencies’ disability to prove something by opening criminal cases”.
Harut Berberyan, the regulator spokesman, responding to Arpine Hovhannisyan’s attack, reminded her that the central bank is an independent organization and pointed out that her stern wording irrelevant to things.
In its statement, the central bank says that the concept is completely in tune with the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, which was ratified by Armenia in 2008 without any reservations.
The institution of property seizure without charge or trial is described also in the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was ratified in Armenia in 2017.
Besides, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering says in its recommendations gives clear requirements to the institutions.
The Central Bank of Armenia says in its statement that such institutions had been introduced either by many countries, including Georgia, Russia, Italy, the Great Britain and the United States and their introduction in Armenia will be based on the international experience. -0—
