One of them, Davit Dallakian, is the acting head of the Yerevan municipality’s architecture and urban development department, while the other, Seyran Mejlumian, served as the chief of the municipality staff until this week.
Mejlumian tendered his resignation right after Sargsian, who had appointed him to that position, stepped down on Friday.
Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC), which made the arrests, refused to reveal what the two men are accused or suspected of. The law-enforcement agency said only that the arrests are not connected with criminal proceedings launched by it against Deputy Mayor Gevorg Simonian.
Simonian, who previously worked as a deputy minister of health, was arrested ten days ago on charges stemming from what the ACC described as misuse of government funds provided for the fight against COVID-19. Also arrested was the head of a private clinic accused of defrauding the Armenian government of 119 million drams ($305,000) in 2020 and 2021. Both men deny the charges.
It was not immediately clear whether ACC investigators have also questioned Sargsian. The ex-mayor did not return phone calls or answer written questions sent by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Armenia - Former Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian attends a session of Yerevan's municipal assembly, September 23, 2022.
Sargsian’s resignation is widely seen as being part of the ruling political team’s preparations for municipal elections that are due to be held in Yerevan in September. Voters in the Armenian capital will elect a new municipal council empowered to appoint the city’s mayor.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party has nominated Tigran Avinian, another deputy mayor, as its mayoral candidate. According to some observers, Pashinian and his entourage hope that Sargsian’s resignation will boost Avinian’s chances in the upcoming elections.
In a Facebook post, Avinian commented on the ACC’s “recent actions in the municipality,” saying that he expects a “full and comprehensive” inquiry. He also urged all municipal employees to “sober up” and serve only “the interests of Yerevan and Yerevan’s citizens.”