By Mark Dovich
An independent audit into the financial reporting practices of Armenia’s ruling political party has found further irregularities, after separate investigations into Civil Contract’s finances earlier this year by CivilNet and Infocom, another local news site, raised concerns over how it sources campaign donations.
CivilNet obtained a copy of the audit Monday from Armenia’s Corruption Prevention Commission, the government body tasked with overseeing political party finances in the country.
The review, which covers Civil Contract’s finances for 2022 and was conducted by Trust Audit, a Yerevan-based auditor, found the party accepted a number of donations that were made anonymously or were above the maximum campaign contribution amount allowed for individuals. Those donations, which would appear to violate the law, totaled $21,500.
That echoes findings from CivilNet’s investigation, together with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, into Civil Contract’s 2022 finances and Infocom’s probe into the party’s 2023 finances, which each revealed a number of seemingly suspicious campaign donations.
Trust Audit’s review also found that Civil Contract failed entirely to report its revenues, expenses, or debts, and misreported the total sum of campaign donations and membership fees it collected. The party raked in $99,000 more in campaign contributions than it reported.
In addition, the audit found Civil Contract withdrew more than $29,000 from its accounts, which would seem to violate rules prohibiting parties from making cash transactions.
It was Civil Contract that first introduced legislation capping campaign donations and banning parties from paying in cash, moves that were welcomed at the time internationally as steps toward making political party financing in Armenia more transparent.
In a statement to CivilNet Monday, the Corruption Prevention Commission said it expects to finish its study of Trust Audit’s review by the end of June. After that, the commission may recommend the Prosecutor General’s Office open civil or criminal cases into any irregularities.
There was no immediate reaction Tuesday from Civil Contract to CivilNet’s publication of the audit’s findings.
Civil Contract came to power in 2018 on pledges to root out corruption and boost government transparency.
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