The main anti-corruption institutions of the Armenian government are an Anti-Corruption Council (headed by the Prime Minister) and the Anti-Corruption Strategy Monitoring Commission, which was established in 2004.
An anti-corruption institutions should: 1. be apolitical/nonpartisan, 2. not be a political office. But the situation in Armenia shows opposite.
Though the Armenian government adopted an Anti-Corruption Strategy and Implementation Action Plan in 2003, corruption is everywhere -in areas such as banking, taxation, customs, health care, education, environment, licensing, public procurement, public administration, and the judiciary system.
Taxation and customs services are considered to be most affected by corruption. Money laundering is observed in all branches of government.
In 2008, Armenia’s Criminal Code was amended to provide better mechanisms for combating corruption. In 2011, some measures to combat corruption were carried out in several state ministries and agencies: revised procedures were introduced for obtaining drivers’ licenses, passports, and business registration in order to discourage the acquisition of such documents through bribery.
However, these anti-corruption efforts are not proving sufficient or effective.
In recent years the number of high-ranking officials arrested and convicted on charges of bribery and corruption in Armenia has increased.
The strong links between the government and business within the Armenian governance system do not allow the government to be independent. By law, government officials are banned from engaging in business activities, but in practice they often have extensive business interests and many parliamentary deputies and state officials run companies on the side.
S. Hasanova
AzVision.az
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