3,500,410 AMD Embezzled: Former Rector of the State Institute of Theatre and Cinema Charged

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia has initiated an investigation based on a report from an employee of the State Institute of Theatre and Cinema. It has been revealed that from 2012 to the present, officials in leadership positions of the same institution have embezzled significantly large sums of money by making fraudulent entries in official documents, using their official positions for personal gain, as reported by the Press Service of the Prosecutor General's Office.

Specifically, according to the source, during the period from 2012 to 2016, the acting rectors of the institution sequentially ordered the current Vice-Rector for Management, International Cooperation, and Inter-University Affairs to serve as an instructor for the English language subject. However, during this period, the individual did not engage in actual teaching, resulting in embezzlement of 3,500,410 AMD by issuing salary payments in their name.

A criminal case was initiated on September 14, 2018, by the RA Police's Criminal Investigative Department under Part 3 of Article 179 of the RA Criminal Code. The case has been transferred according to the jurisdiction to the Investigative Division of the Center and Norq-Marash administrative districts. On February 8, 2019, the former rector D. M. of the State Institute of Theatre and Cinema was charged with committing two offenses under Part 1 of Article 308 of the RA Criminal Code. A preventive measure of a signature not to leave was chosen for him.

The former Vice-Rector H. A. was charged on February 11, 2019, under Point 1 of Part 3 of Article 179 of the RA Criminal Code. A measure of prevention in the form of a signature not to leave was also selected for them. On February 15, 2019, H. A. was summoned to the Prosecutor's Office of the Center and Norq-Marash administrative districts and was warned about the compensation for the damage inflicted on state interests. Consequently, on February 16, they submitted a payment order to the Prosecutor's Office, according to which they paid 3,500,410 AMD to the deposit account of the RA Prosecutor's Office, thereby compensating the damage caused to the state. The preliminary investigation is ongoing.