"Flight scandal" shakes Armenian officials

/By AzerNews/

By Laman Sadigova

Despite high foreign exchange debts and tough economy the Armenian officials are squandering insane amounts of money on business trips without considering a deep economic crisis that country ongoing.

The government did not fulfill its promises about 4.1 percent of economic growth, but it has not abandoned the generous embezzlement of the state budget. In December, the government has spent $13.700 for the Yerevan-Astana flight.

The most ridiculous moment is that the day before the flight the Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan urged government members to refrain from unnecessary trips to cut the spending.

And, for a two-day visit, the Government commissioned a charter aircraft Yerevan-Astana.

This is not the first time when the Armenian government is engaged in such a "flight scandal". In 2015 the government paid a company that runs private flights about $66,000 to make a round-trip to Paris on official business for the prime minister. The most expensive commercial fare for the same trip was $3,340.

Taxpayers shelled out about $34,500 for Abrahamyan’s private flight to Kazakhstan – a few hours away to the Eurasian Economic Union’s summit in May 2015.

The costs of such flights are magnified in Armenia where roughly a third of the 3 million population lives in poverty and the average monthly nominal wage is about $383.