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The system for confiscating property of illicit origin is now fully operational in Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, presenting statistics on asset recovery.
“Alongside the system for protecting state and community interests, property and funds worth 304 billion 182 million drams [$833.4 million] have already been returned to the state,” he said in parliament while presenting the government program for the next five years.
According to the prime minister, the Republic of Armenia already holds stakes in the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine, the Amulsar project and Viva Armenia.
He said that thousands of hectares of land that had been illegally privatized, de jure or de facto, have been returned to communities and the government, including through negotiations.
Pashinyan said that, based on the results of 2025, state budget revenues had more than doubled compared with 2017.
“Besides economic growth, the reduction of the shadow economy has played a significant role in these revenues, where the enormous funds generated had been flowing into the pockets of people known to all of us instead of the state budget before the revolution,” the prime minister said.
According to him, the government’s 2026-2031 program sets out the imperative of returning around $2 billion worth of property of illicit origin to the state by 2031.
Referring to the processes surrounding the Electric Networks of Armenia, Ararat Cement and the Tsaghkadzor ropeway, the prime minister said they indicate that the issue will ultimately be resolved.
“This process is important for preventing corruption and realizing the vision of a corruption-free state,” Pashinyan said.
The prime minister added that any official currently in office—a government member, lawmaker or head of an institution—who faces corruption temptations and gives in to them should be confident that no illegally acquired property will remain under their or their family members’ control.