On 18 April Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) pressed corruption charges against Davit Sanasaryan, a senior government official and political ally of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He was charged under part 1 of Article 308 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (misuse of official powers). Sanasaryan’s role as the head of the State Oversight Service (SOS) has been suspended during the investigation, but he won’t be arrested.

Two senior officials from Sanasaryan’s agency, which is tasked with combating financial irregularities in the public sector, were arrested in late February. The NSS said they colluded with a private firm linked to them in order to personally benefit from government-funded supplies of medical equipment to three hospitals. In a statement, the NSS said that it has collected sufficient evidence to charge Sanasaryan with an abuse of power aimed at benefiting the “company effectively managed by his subordinates.” The SOS chief will face up to four years in prison if convicted.

The NSS claimed earlier that the arrested SOS officials arbitrarily forced medical institutions to rig rules for the choice of companies supplying expensive equipment for hemodialysis, a treatment of kidney failure. It said they wanted to make sure that “the business entity sponsored by them” wins tenders for such supplies. Up to that point the dialysis equipment tenders were won by a handful of private firms. Earlier in February, one of their owners accused Sanasaryan of deliberately driving his company out of business.

Sanasaryan publicly denies the accusations against him. “Nobody, no authority can link me to any corrupt practice because I reject any form of corrupt practices”, he said after attending a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. He also declined to comment on a news report that one of the arrested SOS officials, Samvel Adian, gave an incriminating testimony against him.

"The struggle continues for the sake of the new Armenia, do not give up, and do not get frustrated. It is very important that the basis of our actions is merely love for the homeland. We must always keep in mind that the path of struggle is thorny and stony, and the final victory is never easy. Everything you heard about me is false”, wrote Sanasaryan on his Facebook page.

Prime Minister Pashinyan supports the ongoing investigation. “Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan instructed to satisfy the decision of the investigator to temporarily suspend the authorities of the SCS head,” PM’s spokesperson Vladimir Karapetyan told Aysor.am. During the investigation, Sanasaryan is not allowed to leave the country.