Video: Gifts Worth Over 60,000 Drams Received by Armenian Officials to be Donated to Museums

According to the Minister of Justice of Armenia, if the gift in question is an unacceptable gift that becomes state property and cannot be returned to the donor or reimbursed, these gifts will be sold through public auction.

Gifts given to Armenian officials during official visits, business trips, or ceremonies will be donated to museums or the National Library, or directly given to charitable purposes. This was announced by Minister of Justice Grigor Minasian during a government meeting.

He emphasized that the legal relationships regarding the management of gifts received by public servants that become state property have not been properly regulated until now.

“According to the law, officials do not have the right to receive gifts, with exceptions only for gifts received during official visits or events, academic scholarships, and grants. These gifts become state property if their value exceeds 60,000 drams, but the fate of their further management remains unknown and is still not regulated by law,” Minasian informed.

According to him, if we are dealing with an unacceptable gift that becomes state property and cannot be returned to the donor or reimbursed, then these gifts will be sold through public auctions.

The minister mentioned that there will be a registry of all gifts. “Thus, all gifts received by officials will become predictable and transparent,” Minasian announced.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan added that this is not only within the framework of an anti-corruption program, but this way, an official is more protected when they refuse to accept a gift by referring to the law. This way, according to him, the official will not leave the impression of being an inconsiderate person.