Lawmaker under criminal investigation in “most massive bribery case in Armenian history” – says Pashinyan

A Member of Parliament is under a bribery-related criminal investigation, acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at parliamentary debates today.

Today is the first round of election of a prime minister after Pashinyan’s resignation, and Pashinyan himself is the sole candidate. His candidacy is a formality and MPs are expected to vote him down in order to dissolve the parliament and call early elections.

“There is case against a Member of Parliament, a case that is already 100% proven, and it is already two months that we are waiting for an official response from another country to a document that we have in our hands. On the very day that it happens [ response], there will be an initiative regarding arresting this lawmaker, this is a bribery case,” Pashinyan said, without specifying who the MP is.

He added that they aren’t receiving this document for some reasons and the process is being delayed.

“Our embassy is working a bit poorly, I don’t know, perhaps there are some ties with that country, they are delaying it all the time. All right, maybe they will delay it for another week, another month, but there is no option, this lawmaker will be arrested, and this will be the largest bribery case in the history of the third republic, which will lead with its threads after other high ranking officials,” he said.