YEREVAN (Reuters)–The head of Armenia’s state-run energy company and two other top officials were arrested on Friday for alleged corruption–the Ministry of Security and Interior said.
A ministry spokesman’said Armenergo chief Stepan Aslanyan was suspected of accepting bribes between 1996 and 1998.
Also taken into custody was his deputy–Arshavir Martirosyan–and the company’s head accountant.
The spokesman’said there had also been corruption-related arrests at national telecommunications company Armentel–90 percent of which was sold off to Greek firm OTE earlier this year.
He stressed that the cases of corruption occurred before OTE’s acquisition of Armentel but gave no further details.
The arrests followed a pledge by new President Robert Kocharian–elected in March–to crack down on graft in Armenia.
In May–Kocharian took away some state-owned vehicles from a number of ministries–saying Armenia’s financial woes meant officials would have to learn to live with fewer privileges.