Avinian, who is a senior member of the ruling Civil Contract party, also defended the track record of a state fund that was closed last year after failing to attract major foreign investment in Armenia. He headed its board of directors until November 2023.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government set up the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) in 2019 in an effort to not only lure foreign investors but also promote Armenian exports and support local businesses. ANIF clearly failed in that mission, leading the government to liquidate it in August 2025. Earlier this Pashinian described as a “disgrace” ANIF’s activities that reportedly cost taxpayers at least 10.7 billion drams ($27.3 million).
Avinian gave a more positive assessment of the fund during a news conference in Yerevan. In particular, he said that the total amount of taxes paid by companies which ANIF helped to set up exceeds government funding provided to the fund.
Last month, law-enforcement authorities brought corruption charges against ANIF’s former chief executive, Davit Papazian, and two other individuals. One of them, Karine Andreasian, ran an obscure firm that was registered in the U.S. state of Delaware in 2023 eight days before securing over 1.5 billion drams ($3.8 million) in investment from ANIF.
The investment was supposed to help the company, CFW, train cybersecurity specialists for Armenia’s private sector. CFW is understood to have effectively stopped operating a year later.
Andreasian is a close friend of Avinian’s wife, Mariam Pahlavuni. The mayor insisted that this fact had nothing to do with the sizable funding. He said that Andreasian was “selected” to manage CFW by U.S. national security consulting company Orbis that cooperated with ANIF at the time.
“When Ms. Andreasian called me and told me that such a process has taken place, I said, ‘Dear Karine, are you sure? You are not an expert in the field.’ She said that she is sure [she can manage CFW.]”
Andreasian and Avinian’s wife own sizable stakes in another private firm. The mayor downplayed this fact, saying that it involves a “small-scale” operation.
He also revealed that he was questioned in the ongoing corruption probe “about one and a half years ago.” “I completely passed on the information I had to law-enforcement bodies,” he said.
Avinian went on to insist that he was not behind ANIF’s decision to invest 960 million drams ($2.5 million) in an agribusiness company owned by a school classmate of Avinian, Dmitry Alexeyenko. He said that Alexeyenko was already a “successful businessman” at that point and that the project financed by ANIF proved profitable.
Pashinian has repeatedly claimed to have eliminated “systemic corruption” in Armenia since coming to power in 2018. However, members of his entourage are increasingly accused by Armenian media of using their positions to enrich themselves, their families or cronies.
Avinian has also faced such accusations. The 36-year-old on Monday again denied any illicit enrichment by himself or his family.
In a November 2024 article, Civilnet.am said that Avinian’s dazzling political career made since the 2018 “velvet revolution” was “accompanied by the growing prosperity of businesses linked to his family.” It singled out an agribusiness firm that received government grants and loan subsidies when Avinian served as deputy prime minister from 2018-2021. Avinian denounced the “false article” before filing a defamation suit against online publication.
