Armenia ex-President could be probed for alleged leak of classified info

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Prosecutor General's Office has sent an application to the Military Police of Armenia over alleged disclosure of confidential information by former President Serzh Sargsyan. A spokesperson for the Prosecutor Office, Arevik Khachatryan, confirmed the news to the Armenian Service of RFE/RL.

During a February interview with ArmNews TV, Sargsyan said the Armenian authorities paid several times more for body armor than they had to, spending $600 on each bulletproof vest. He also maintained his government had approved a procurement plan with clear financial sources. According to him, they were planning to acquire up to 2500 drones by 2024, more than 1000 UAVs by 2020, as well as air defense systems, but Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government allegedly changed that program.

Amram Makinyan, a lawyer for Sargsyan, described the process as nonsense and said it was being guided by the country's authorities.

"Serzh Sargsyan has at least 20 years of experience in dealing with state secrets and knows the difference between information and a state secret," Makinyan said.