Ex-Armenian culture minister ordered to repay $65,000 in state damages

A former Armenian culture minister who served under ex-presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan has been ordered to compensate the state for financial losses amounting to 25 million drams (around $65,000).

The Anti-Corruption Court found Asmik Poghosyan guilty of causing financial damage to the state and ordered her to repay the amount in full, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media.

The ruling follows a decision by the Court of Cassation in November 2024, which overturned an earlier judgment by the Appellate Anti-Corruption Court and sent the case back for retrial.

Court documents show that the losses stemmed from the improper execution of contracts signed between the Ministry of Culture and the company Gugark in 2007 and 2008.

The agreements were part of the “Restoration of Monuments” programme and related to renovation works at the Kobayravank monastery complex.

In addition to this case, Poghosyan remains under investigation in two other criminal proceedings. She is accused of irregularities in the privatisation of land belonging to the Tchaikovsky School and of illegally acquiring property connected to the Armenian Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (AOKS).

By Aghakazim Guliyev