Category: News

Russia’s restriction on taking more than 1 million roubles out of the country to Eurasian Economic Union member states and three other former Soviet republics, in force since 29 September, will not cause major difficulties for Armenian citizens working in Russia or for Russian relocators and tourists coming to Armenia.

Central Bank Governor Martin Galstyan made the remarks at a press conference.

“I do not see major problems because 1 million roubles is roughly equivalent to $12,000 or AMD 4–5 million. If I recall correctly how our compatriots working abroad manage their money, they generally send part of their earnings to Armenia through transfers during the year. As a result, the cash they bring back when they return is much less than that amount. So I do not think there will be a significant impact.

“I am not familiar with the behaviour of relocators, so we cannot model their behaviour. But I do not think they bring cash to Armenia every time they arrive. I assume most of them already have a relationship with Armenia’s banking system, which means they have international and Russian payment cards that they use in Armenia in certain ways. I do not think the cash restriction will significantly affect their behaviour,” Galstyan said.

The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 3 November, USD exchange rate down by 0.43 drams to 360.07 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.2 drams to 402.7 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.0143 drams to 4.4309 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.28 drams to 482.93 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 432 drams to 45788 drams. 

Investigative Committee Chairman Artur Poghosyan believes the committee needs a separate operational unit to improve the effectiveness of criminal proceedings.

Poghosyan made the remarks during preliminary discussions of the draft 2027 state budget at a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committees on state and legal affairs and on financial, credit and budgetary affairs, responding to a question from Civil Contract faction MP Andranik Kocharyan.

Kocharyan asked whether budget allocations were sufficient to keep pace with the growing volume of investigative work and what structural changes could improve the committee’s effectiveness. In that context, he also raised the committee’s lack of its own operational unit.

Poghosyan said structural changes had already been implemented and new units established through internal reorganisation. He also stressed the importance of expanding operational capabilities.

“In certain criminal proceedings, there is a real need, in my view, for the Investigative Committee to have a separate operational unit, with all that this entails. I believe this would further improve the effectiveness of criminal proceedings. I am presenting this not simply from the perspective of the interests of the institution, but from the perspective of the public interest and the effectiveness of criminal proceedings,” Poghosyan said.

He stressed that the committee was currently working actively with the operational units of other bodies.

Citing his experience in the National Security Service’s Investigative Department, Poghosyan said being part of the same organisation had facilitated faster information sharing. According to him, investigators were kept informed from the initial stage of obtaining operational intelligence and could plan their work accordingly.

Investigative Committee units have been instructed to review murder cases dating back to the 1990s.

Committee Chairman Artur Poghosyan announced this during preliminary discussions of the draft 2027 state budget at a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committees. He was responding to Civil Contract faction MP Andranik Kocharyan, who referred to recent breakthroughs in cases involving murders committed years ago and asked about ways to improve the system’s effectiveness.

Poghosyan said the work was ongoing and covered thousands of criminal proceedings.

According to him, the reviews showed that, in some cases, evidence available from the outset had been sufficient to identify those involved in the crimes.

“It is not that we solved these cases: the body of evidence was such from the outset that these cases were already solved. We have made no new discovery; the case had been solved from the beginning. We have merely established certain legal grounds,” the committee chairman said.

He explained that decisions had previously been taken to discontinue criminal prosecution against certain individuals. Steps have now been taken to overturn those decisions and continue the prosecutions.

Poghosyan also addressed the possible accountability of investigators, prosecutors and senior officials who had previously worked on the cases, in connection with abuse of official powers or failure to act in an official capacity.

The committee chairman said the review also covered high-profile cases whose resolution the public had awaited for years.

Investigative Committee Chairman Artur Poghosyan plans to write to the director of the National Security Service about circumstances established during investigations into certain cases of suicide in the army. He described the matter as a national security issue.

Poghosyan made the remarks during preliminary discussions of the draft 2027 state budget at a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committees, responding to a question from Civil Contract faction MP Andranik Kocharyan.

Kocharyan raised the issue of deaths in the army, stressing the importance of not only solving crimes but also examining and preventing their underlying causes.

Poghosyan said the relevant criminal proceedings were under his direct supervision. According to him, the investigations have yielded findings and individuals have been remanded in custody, while the causes of the incidents are being analysed alongside the investigations.

“This is a national security issue, and we will now initiate processes to address it. The public will also be informed of these findings in the near future. This does not concern all cases; we already have several cases of this kind,” Poghosyan said.

The committee chairman said the planned letter concerned circumstances uncovered in specific cases, stressing that his assessment did not extend to all cases of suicide in the army.

Investigative Committee Chairman Artur Poghosyan said he had reached agreements with specialised units on combating drugs during a visit to the United States. According to him, specialists will visit Armenia to discuss work in this area.

Poghosyan made the remarks during discussions of the draft 2027 state budget at a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committees, responding to a question from MP Davit Ghazinyan.

Ghazinyan expressed concern about the spread of drugs and illicit arms trafficking, asking what steps the Investigative Committee was taking to change the situation. He stressed the importance of identifying major drug suppliers and criminal networks.

Poghosyan emphasised that one of the main priorities was preventing drugs from entering the country.

“The task is to intercept the drugs at the point of smuggling so that they do not enter the Republic of Armenia and are not divided into smaller quantities. Detecting them afterwards becomes significantly more difficult. In other words, the task is to prevent this at the initial stage,” the committee chairman said.

Asked about seeking remand in custody for people involved in drug distribution, Poghosyan said the committee sought custody in cases involving the sale of drugs or assistance in their sale. According to him, exceptions are made when individuals cooperate with investigators by identifying the source of the drugs or other members of the criminal organisation.

The committee chairman also noted that statistics on recorded cases did not fully reflect the actual situation, given the hidden nature of these crimes. He said that although statistics showed a decline in cases of drug and illicit arms trafficking, those figures alone were insufficient to assess the situation.

The Azerbaijani serviceman remanded in custody over the Shaki incident has been questioned and given testimony describing his route and the circumstances of the incident. An assessment of the facts established during the investigation indicates that he had no intent to kill.

Investigative Committee Chairman Artur Poghosyan said this during a press briefing at the National Assembly on 3 November.

Poghosyan declined to disclose details of the testimony, citing the need to maintain the confidentiality of the preliminary investigation.

“He has been questioned and has given testimony. I cannot disclose the content of the questioning. But I can say that he has given testimony and indicated the location, the incident, the terrain and how he arrived — he has described it all,” the committee chairman said.

Asked by a journalist why the serviceman had opened fire, Poghosyan replied: “All I can say is that he had no intent to kill.”

The committee chairman stressed that this assessment was based on the factual circumstances of the incident.

He said the Azerbaijani serviceman was accused of causing grievous bodily harm, unlawful deprivation of liberty, violating the inviolability of a home, theft and illegally crossing the border. Poghosyan also said the preliminary investigation would be completed soon.

He said a closed meeting on the incident was scheduled at the National Assembly for 5 November, during which the information could be presented in the appropriate format.

On 1 October, Azerbaijani serviceman Nasimi Musayev unlawfully entered a house in Shaki, a settlement in the Sisian municipality, and opened fire after being discovered. An Armenian citizen born in 1987 was wounded. His two children also sought medical treatment for injuries: one had a fractured right wrist and the other had soft tissue bruising. On 2 October, the Investigative Committee announced that Musayev had been remanded in custody for two months.

Former military prosecutor Gagik Jhangiryan was summoned for questioning in the October 27 case but exercised his right to decline to answer questions, explaining that he had acted as a prosecutor within his powers at the time.

Investigative Committee Chairman Artur Poghosyan said this during a press briefing at the National Assembly on 3 November.

A journalist asked about Jhangiryan’s recent statement concerning Nairi Hunanyan’s appeal, which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had also instructed officials to examine.

Poghosyan said he had not heard the statement, but Jhangiryan had been summoned for questioning well before it was made.

“We summoned Gagik Jhangiryan for questioning much earlier. He exercised his rights and declined to answer questions, explaining that he had acted as a prosecutor at the time and within his powers. Nevertheless, we are examining all the circumstances as part of the investigation,” the committee chairman said.

Poghosyan also stressed that the Investigative Committee was investigating the case and actively carrying out investigative actions.

On 27 October 2026, Jhangiryan said he believed that appeals by Nairi Hunanyan and the others convicted in the case had been written but had never reached the court. He proposed that the prosecutor general instruct the National Security Service to locate those appeals and investigate any circumstances that might be mentioned in them.

On 29 October, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he had instructed officials to examine Jhangiryan’s statement and establish the details of the facts mentioned in it.

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee has initiated criminal proceedings against Hayk Sargsyan, a former MP from the National Assembly’s Civil Contract faction, and transferred the case to the Investigative Committee.

Investigative Committee Chairman Artur Poghosyan announced this during a press briefing at the National Assembly.

“We have just received the case from the Anti-Corruption Committee. Urgent investigative actions are being carried out. I cannot recall at the moment under which article the criminal proceedings were initiated; I only know that it is related to corruption,” Artur Poghosyan said.

On 6 October, the Civil Contract party’s board decided to expel Hayk Sargsyan from the party.

Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Davit Khudatyan met Hussain Al Nowais, founder and Chairman of UAE-based AMEA Power, on the sidelines of the ADIPEC 2026 international energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

The Armenian ministry said the two sides discussed prospects for cooperation on modernising Armenia’s energy system, particularly the company’s possible involvement in introducing battery energy storage systems (BESS) and implementing investment projects in Armenia.

The minister highlighted AMEA Power’s international experience and technological capabilities in renewable energy, stressing that developing energy storage systems was strategically important for strengthening Armenia’s energy independence, increasing the system’s flexibility and ensuring a stable energy supply.

Al Nowais expressed interest in deepening cooperation with Armenia and exploring opportunities for joint projects to develop sustainable energy infrastructure in the country.

The two sides agreed to continue working-level discussions with a broader group of specialists.