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Yura Ivanyan, the head of the Department of Investigation of Corruption-Related Crimes, Crimes against Property and Cybercrimes at the Investigative Committee, has not been dismissed, the committee’s spokesperson Naira Harutyunyan told Panorama.am.

Ivanyan is heading the investigation into the controversial Amulsar gold mine project. An official investigation was launched against him days ago to check the information about his partiality in the case.

The move came after an article published on the Infocom information platform that pointed to a kinship between the top investigator and former Minister of Ecology Aramayis Grigoryan, who initially approved the gold mine operator Lydian’s Environmental Impact Assessment evaluation.

“Mr Ivanyan continues to hold office,” she said, adding a respective decision will be made based on the outcome of the probe.

As to the reports about the dismissal of Investigative Committee Deputy Chairman Samvel Avetisyan, the spokesperson said the appointment and dismissal of the chairman's deputies are not within the powers of the Investigative Committee.