Vardan Ghukasyan is currently in the Anti-corruption Committee, they are just charging him. Lawyer Aramais Hayrapetyan said this in a conversation with journalists.
"There is no mention of a bribe in the fragmentary recording that has been distributed, Vardan Ghukasyan is not even accused of receiving a bribe. According to the accusation, Mr. Ghukasyan denied having a monetary conversation with anyone, as if he demanded a bribe. As for the recordings, they are out-of-context conversations that could have been about property taxes and legalization fees. "Mr. Ghukasyan could not legalize an illegal building even if he wanted to, because it has expired in Gyumri," said the defense attorney.
We reported earlier that the employees of the power structures entered Gyumri City Hall early in the morning. The masked special forces prohibited the exit and entry of the employees. Citizens gathered in front of the municipality, where the police detained citizens.
The masked security forces, carrying out a special operation, quickly arrested and took Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan away from the back entrance of the Gyumri Municipality. He was transferred to Yereeva, Anti-Corruption Committee.
Later, the Anti-Corruption Committee released a message stating that 8 employees of the municipality, including Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan, were arrested on charges of receiving and giving bribes.
Henrik Gasparyan, the chief architect of the city, is also among those arrested. In the message distributed by the anti-corruption committee, there was an intercepted recording of a conversation between the mayor and the chief architect.
Let us add that on October 1, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced in the National Assembly: "For 6 months now, Gyumri has been ruled by a clan whose head, or many people know, Vardanik, or, according to the accusation, the father of the community brush thief, during this time he has allowed himself so many expressions that he recently publicly questioned Armenia's sovereignty. Those who make statements against the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia should be thrown out of the political and public arena," said Pashinyan.
