Anti-Corruption National Initiative
ANTI-CORRUPTIONNATIONALINITIATIVE

How Officials “Get Poorer”: Deputy Prime Minister Khachatryan’s Income Reached AMD 134 Million in Six Years

Speaking about increases in officials’ salaries, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly argued that the public sector is facing a problem of staff outflow due to low pay. This creates the impression that government officials have made financial “sacrifices” by entering public service. However, the declarations of Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan paint a different picture.

According to data from the Corruption Prevention Commission, Khachatryan’s officially declared income between 2018 and 2024 amounted to at least AMD 133.8 million (approximately $353,000). Over six years, his annual income increased more than threefold.

Income Dynamics

  • Before becoming a minister (early 2018): Monthly salary of approximately AMD 602,000.
  • 2019: After being appointed minister, his income nearly doubled, reaching AMD 17.6 million (approximately AMD 1.4 million per month).
  • 2021–2024: His income continued to increase, rising from AMD 18.7 million to AMD 27.6 million in 2024.

The Issue of Bonuses

Bonuses are not listed separately from overall remuneration in the declarations. However, according to an investigation by Hetq, between 2021 and 2025, the two deputy prime ministers, Mher Grigoryan and Tigran Khachatryan, received a combined total of approximately AMD 106.7 million in bonuses.

If we apply a hypothetical equal-distribution principle, Tigran Khachatryan’s share of the total bonuses could have amounted to around AMD 53 million (approximately $140,000). All of this should be viewed in the context of the country’s overall socioeconomic situation. According to official data, in 2024, the urban poverty rate in Armenia was 19.3%, while the extreme poverty rate was 0.6% of the population.

Thus, despite the rhetoric that officials make “sacrifices” by supposedly moving from the more profitable private sector into public service, the income levels of senior government officials remain significantly higher than those of a large part of the population.

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