Zhoghovurd: Former national security chief to head anti-corruption panel

A former chief of the National Security Service (NSS), Argishti Kyaramyan, is rumored to be the most likely candidate to take charge over the anti-corruption commission, a special body to be created later this year under the Armenian Government's 2019 Anti-Corruption Strategy.

The paper has provided a recap of "interesting facts" regarding the panel's activity. In particular, it has cited the bill which proposes the creation of a special center expected to hire an estimated 150 employees, including at least 30 interrogators and as many as 60 operational intelligence officers. The Government on Tuesday approved the proposed allocations of 8.203 billion Armenian Drams (AMD 525.44 = USD 1) for 2021-2023, of which an estimated AMD 5.1 billion is intended for remunerations, utility payments and maintenance costs, over AMD  5 billion - for improvements to the building premises, some AMD 285.5 million - for the procurement of technical supplies and another AMD 192 million - for transport maintenance.      

As for the proposed salaries, they will be in the range of AMD 650,000 (without tax duties) for the regular staff and an estimated AMD 700,000 - for the commission's chairman, says the paper, warning of unfair competition risks with the NSS, where an ordinary investigator gets a monthly net salary of less than AMD 300,000.

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