Who is the former Deputy Minister that caused 1.7 billion drams in damage to the state?

According to the newspaper "Zhamakn", on February 8, the National Security Service announced that an international search has been declared for the former Deputy Minister of Finance on charges of causing over 1.7 billion drams in damage to the state, and pre-trial detention has been chosen as a measure of restraint.

According to "Zhamakn", the accused in this case is Arthur Afrikyan, the former Deputy Minister of Finance. He served during the tenure of former Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan from 2014 to 2016. Prior to that, Afrikyan was the Deputy Chairman of the State Revenue Committee.

In general, Arthur Afrikyan has worked in tax and customs bodies since the 1980s, rising from lower levels to the position of Deputy Minister. Afrikyan remained without a position only when Karen Karapetyan became Prime Minister and appointed his close associate Vardan Harutyunyan as the head of the State Revenue Committee. However, before that, Afrikyan had managed to amass a huge fortune and own businesses abroad.

For more details, refer to the newspaper issue.