Armenian Defense Ministry Officials Arrested

Senior military officials hold a meeting at the Armenian Ministry of Defense in Yerevan in January (Photo: President.am)

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)””An army general and two other senior Armenian Defense Ministry officials have been arrested in separate corruption investigations conducted by law-enforcement authorities on May 31.

The general, Melsik Chilingarian, was taken into custody late on Monday, ten days after being sacked as head of the ministry’s Department on Armaments which deals with storage, maintenance and repair of weapons and ammunition supplied to the Armenian Armed Forces.

Also arrested was Colonel Armen Markarian, one of Chilingarian’s subordinates who was in charge of vehicles used by the army. Markarian was fired earlier in May.

Armenia’s Investigative Committee said the two men are suspected of abuse of power that resulted in “severe consequences.”