Charges Filed Against Two for Bribing Aram Harutyunyan, Says Special Investigative Service

The Special Investigative Service of the Republic of Armenia reports that sufficient evidence has been obtained during the investigation of a criminal case to substantiate that V. M. and A. D. assisted Aram Harutyunyan, who held the position of Minister of Environment of Armenia, in receiving a particularly large bribe. Additionally, V. M. is accused of legalizing the funds obtained through illegal means.

According to the charges presented, V. M., having had close relations with Aram Harutyunyan for a long time, learned in early 2008 that the latter demanded a particularly large bribe equivalent to 14 million US dollars, or 4.2 billion Armenian drams, from businessman S. H. Furthermore, it was established that a part of the bribe was received via a bank transfer in the United Arab Emirates.

Specifically, with the intention of assisting Aram Harutyunyan in receiving the substantial bribe, V. M. provided him with his bank account opened in the UAE and other necessary details, thus facilitating the receipt of 8 million US dollars of the bribe money. Subsequently, based on an agreement and upon the proposal of businessman S. H., an Arab organization registered in the UAE transferred 8 million US dollars on February 7, 2008, to the bank account of A. D., a citizen of Armenia permanently residing in the UAE, who had expressed willingness to assist in the receipt of the bribe and provided his banking details. A. D. then transferred part of this amount, equivalent to 797,918,520 Armenian drams (9,499,030 UAE dirhams) and 769,125,000 Armenian drams (9,156,250 UAE dirhams), to the accounts of Aram Harutyunyan’s associates, including V. M.

Afterward, V. M. and other associates of Aram Harutyunyan partially cashed the transferred funds, managing them according to the directives of A. Harutyunyan, while the remainder was transferred to his account in the National Bank of the UAE in March 2011.

Moreover, V. M., aiming to conceal, distort, and legitimize the actual source of the funds transferred to his bank account as part of the bribe, under Aram Harutyunyan’s suggestion, transferred the illegally obtained money to a bank account of an international company located in the Swiss Confederation on March 23, 2011. Aram Harutyunyan subsequently organized the regular transfer of funds from this account to the bank account of a company engaged in business activities in Armenia, owned by a person with whom he had close relations.

For the commission of the aforementioned criminal acts, V. M. has been charged under Article 38-311, part 4, point 2, and Article 190, part 3, point 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, while A. D. is charged under Article 38-311, part 4, point 2. As a measure of constraint, V. M. has been detained. The preliminary investigation regarding V. M. and A. D. has been completed in the separated part of the criminal case, and the case has been sent to the supervising prosecutor with a motion to forward it to court.