Armenia parliament approves bill to criminalize illicit enrichment

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Parliament on Wednesday, April 15 approved a bill on the confiscation of illegally acquired property whose value exceeds AMD 50 million ($100,000).

Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan introduced the amended version of the law against illicit enrichment which has been clarified to include proposals by the opposition. In particular, lawmakers proposed to specify that the law covers property that only belongs to politicians and entrepreneurs, and not labor migrants (who often work without an employment contract and cannot justify their income).

“At the suggestion of the Prosperous Armenia Party and Bright Armenia, as well as the commission on state and legal affairs, we raised the bar from AMD 25 million to AMD 50 million,” Badasyan said.

The bill thus implies that an investigation may be launched only if the value of property exceeds the legal income by AMD 50 million.

The Justice Minister stressed that the burden of proof of the illegality of property rests with the government, which means not the official should prove their innocence, but the other way round.