Who was arrested with Armenia's former food safety chief?

Two employees of Armenia's Food Safety Inspection Body (FSIB) were arrested on Monday along with the agency’s former head, Armen Danielyan, on charges of large-scale embezzlement.

While Danielyan has been remanded in pre-trial custody, the two FSIB employees have been released without any measures of restraint imposed on them.

The Anti-Corruption Committee and the FSIB have so far declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

Panorama.am has revealed that the two employees include Levon Gulkanyan, head of the FSIB Yerevan Central Office, and the agency’s chief supply officer. Gulkanyan also serves as a lecturer at the Armenian National Agrarian University.

Earlier reports suggested that Danielyan embezzled funds by withholding gasoline allocations meant for official regional trips and selling the fuel for personal gain. In another incident, he awarded bonuses to his employees to later demand the money back, effectively pocketing funds allocated from the state budget.