Here’s yet another example of a business owned by a top government official getting a lucrative state contract.

On April 12, of this year, the Kotayk Provincial Administration signed a 70 million AMD road repair contract with a company owned by Minister of Environmental Protection Ara Harutyunyan.

Harutyunyan’s company, Nayiri Road Construction, must now repair municipal streets in the community of Getamedj as well as Abovyan Street in Yeghvard. The contract specifies that the work must be completed by the end of this month.

Arayik Harutyunyan, who runs the company and is the brother of the minister, signed the deal with the Kotayk Provincial Administration.

There was no tender bid for the work.

Hetq tried to get in touch with Kotayk Governor Marzpet Gareginyan to find out the criteria used for giving the contract to Nayiri Road Construction.

Gareginyan’s office told us to submit our inquiry in written form.

Such a transaction would appear to contradict ethical laws on the books regarding the behaviour of civil servants and high ranking government officials regarding dealings with the private sector.

Such officials must go out of their way to avoid being perceived as using their positions for private gain.

In this case, the exact opposite seems to have occurred.