Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan has compensated 7.7 million drams ($20,000) from his personal funds, which were spent from the state budget on purchasing an airline ticket to the US for a business trip, according to the city hall’s press secretary Hayk Kostanyan, Report informs via Armenian media.
The scandal erupted after former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan accused Avinyan of excessive travel expenses during a television debate.
He noted that the mayor’s ticket cost 7.6 million drams ($20,000), which is five times more expensive than the average business class flight. To support his claims, Marutyan showed documents and noted that the amount spent on the ticket was comparable to the property tax of 43 residential houses in the Avan district. The accusations caused widespread public outcry.
