Gyumri mayor Vardan Ghukasyan and other officials arrested

Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan, its chief architect and six other municipal employees were arrested on corruption charges following a NSS raid on Monday, the country’s Anti-Corruption Committee reported.

Investigators say the officials allegedly demanded and received a bribe of 4 million drams (around $10,000) from a citizen who had built an unauthorized 1,500-square-meter structure slated for demolition. In exchange, the officials reportedly promised to legalize the building by falsifying official documents and claiming it had been rebuilt legally.

The law enforcement agency also claimed that the suspects sought to silence and control critical members of the Gyumri City Council through intimidation and blackmail.

In addition, the mayor is accused of abusing his office to privatize a plot of community land under a relative’s name, while the chief architect allegedly accepted bribes in at least six other cases.

The investigation is underway as authorities work to uncover the full extent of the alleged corruption network.