Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) today charged former Ijevan mayor Vardan Ghalumyan with abusing his official powers when he sold city land to a third party at three times less than its cadastral value.

The ACC says the land was not eligible for direct sale and that the transaction caused significant damage to the community.

Ijevan, with a population of some 21,000, is the capital of Armenia's northeastern Tavush Province.

In August 2019, when serving as mayor, Ghalumyan was charged with “abuse of official authority” (Criminal Code, Article 308) after it was revealed that he allowed the wife of a friend he hired in 2016 to head the municipality’s budgetary department to miss work for one year and still get paid.

According to a statement released by the Investigative Committee (IC), the unnamed woman remained on the books from October 1, 2017 until October 1, 2018, even though she had moved to Yerevan.

Ghalumyan resigned as Ijevan mayor in September 2019.