Minister Vahé Ghazaryan Addresses Tablet Issues: 'Mr. Kocharyan, the Tablets Donated to Us Did Not Function Properly'

During a joint meeting of the National Assembly's Financial and Budgetary Affairs and Defense and Security Committees, Minister of Internal Affairs Vahé Ghazaryan stated, "I have now instructed the internal security and anti-corruption department to initiate a service investigation regarding these incidents." This was in reference to the findings from the Court of Accounts on the execution of the state budget for the Ministry of Internal Affairs over the past nine months.

In response to deputies' questions, Ghazaryan noted that if the results of the service investigation reveal a criminal offense, the case will be sent for preliminary investigation. "If it turns out that there is a disciplinary issue, we will hold those responsible to disciplinary accountability," he said.

The Court of Accounts revealed that approximately 30 million drams were overpaid for the purchase of tablets for water patrols. Ghazaryan addressed Andranik Kocharyan, chairman of the National Assembly's Defense and Security Committee, saying, "Mr. Kocharyan, the first time international partners donated tablets to us, they did not function at all. We also tried to bring better quality devices."

It should be noted that the tablets acquired through the Ministry of Internal Affairs are operational even underwater. Their technical specifications were extensively discussed in the National Assembly. Atom Janjughazyan, chairman of the Court of Accounts, expressed doubts that the purchased tablets met the described specifications.