Funds Allocated for Snoop Dogg’s Concert Have Not Yet Been Returned to the State Budget
The funds allocated for Snoop Dogg’s concert have not yet been returned to the state budget. This was stated by Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, noting that they are still awaiting a response from the “Doping Space” company.
Andreasyan announced during a press conference on January 8 that the concert of the famous American rapper Snoop Dogg, initially scheduled for September 2023, would not take place. She added that the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports (MoESCS) has submitted a request to the organizing company, “Doping Space,” to return all funds allocated for the concert to the state budget.
The minister assured that everything was prepared and planned for the concert, and there was no deliberate intent behind its cancellation.
On September 13, 2024, the Competition Protection Commission launched an investigation into the financing of Snoop Dogg’s canceled concert, citing possible signs of prohibited state aid.
The Commission noted that “Doping Space” was treated preferentially, as the program’s implementation was entrusted to a single economic operator without a competitive process.
The “Doping Space” company was allocated 2,318,596,800 AMD for the concert. Under the contract signed between MoESCS and the company, the funds were provided as a grant. The full amount was transferred on August 25.