Law enforcement body vows to continue crackdown on electoral crimes

The Anti-Corruption Committee announced on Wednesday that it will continue investigating alleged electoral crimes after the parliamentary elections held on June 7.

The law enforcement agency’s chairman, Artur Nahapetyan, told lawmakers at a joint committee hearing on the 2025 budget report that new investigative operations and arrests would take place soon.

He was asked by MP Gegham Nazaryan to provide details on efforts to address electoral violations and vote buying.

Nahapetyan assessed the agency’s work as effective but admitted that they had not ensured a 100% detection rate for electoral crimes.

“Of course, I cannot say that we have achieved a 100% detection rate in electoral crimes, but at the same time I can say that the Anti-Corruption Committee has worked effectively,” he said.

According to him, the committee currently has 72 investigator positions and 78 operational-intelligence officer positions filled, while the number of vacant positions is close to 60.

“With such human resources, the Anti-Corruption Committee has carried out more than 100 detections across the country and investigated around 115 criminal proceedings,” Nahapetyan noted.

The head of the committee said that after the completion of electoral processes, the work will not only continue but will enter a new phase.

“We already have cases identified by the operational unit that have not yet been made public, meaning they have not entered the open investigation stage, but in the near future we will proceed and carry out searches, detentions, and prosecutions,” he stated.

He recalled that in the past as well, high-profile revelations were recorded after elections.

“We have experience that, for example, after the elections in the Vagharshapat community, we had numerous exposures and around fifty defendants accused of bribery in elections. Those disclosures were made after the electoral processes,” he said.

He added that the committee is currently working across various regions of the country to gather and verify new data on electoral crimes.

“I assure you that we will have new revelations in this regard,” Nahapetyan emphasized.

The head of the Anti-Corruption Committee also noted that even information received years later will not be ignored.

“If years pass and we receive new information about electoral crimes or corruption-related electoral offenses, we will verify it using the full range of tools and proceed with criminal prosecution,” he concluded.