By Lia Avagyan
Armenia’s corruption watchdog referred 202 potentially suspicious political donations for further checks in connection with this year’s parliamentary elections, but investigators have not disclosed whether any led to criminal proceedings, according to an Azatutyun investigation published on October 5.
The Corruption Prevention Commission flagged the donations after finding discrepancies between the amounts contributed and donors’ income and assets. The cases involved both the ruling Civil Contract party and opposition groups.
The commission reviewed 757 large donations. Its checks drew on political parties’ bank account records covering May 4 through June 10, as well as financial disclosures submitted by public officials and parliamentary candidates.
Of the donations referred for further checks, 78 involved businessman Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party and 42 involved businessman Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia party. Another 31 concerned two parties belonging to former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance, while 12 involved Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party.
The commission emphasized that the referrals were requests for comprehensive checks, rather than formal reports of crimes. It withheld donors’ identities and donation amounts, citing banking secrecy and concerns that disclosure could interfere with investigators’ work.
In late July, the Anti-Corruption Committee declined to answer Azatutyun’s questions about whether criminal proceedings had been opened, citing the confidentiality of preliminary investigations.
Responding to a follow-up request about two months later, the committee said it was examining the information and would provide an official clarification if necessary. It again did not disclose whether any of the 202 cases had resulted in criminal proceedings.
Azatutyun also highlighted a separate alleged unlawful donation to Civil Contract involving two concerts sponsored by Fast Bank. The concerts’ title matched the party’s slogan, raising questions about whether the sponsorship amounted to an in-kind contribution. According to the report, companies were prohibited from donating to political parties.
The committee did not open criminal proceedings over that case, while the commission deferred its examination until next year.
The report also said Civil Contract received free use of 36 campaign offices in Yerevan from property owners including businesspeople and current and former officials. Azatutyun reported no legal consequences in those cases.
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