State Revenue Committee chief demands official retraction from news website for defaming and false article

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. President of the State Revenue Committee David Ananyan has denied media reports alleging that he had wanted to sign a 350,000,000 dram contract with someone close to him.

“The article is defamation, which naturally has nothing to do with reality and which is [damaging] my honor and dignity. Therefore, I am demanding an official retraction from the media outlet. At the same time, I am drawing the attention of the law enforcement agencies to the fact that this article might contain false [testimony] elements, therefore I believe that law enforcement bodies too have something to do in this regard,” Ananyan said on Facebook.

The meida outlet Ananyan is referring is an online news website politik.am, which claimed that every year the audit at the State Revenue Committee has comprised 75 million drams, but this year, Ananyan has increased it up to 350,000,000 drams since taking office, and that he has allegedly arranged for the procurement to be signed with a company said to be owned by his close ones. The report claims that the finance ministry has been against this decision.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan