Colonel Demands and Receives Significant Bribe: Investigative Committee

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has charged the head of the Ministry of Defense's Special Operations Department with serious offenses in a criminal case under investigation by the Committee's unit.

The investigation has revealed that M.M., an employee of the investigative body since November 30, 2015, abused his official powers. In October 2014, upon learning that his acquaintance, Russian citizen E.M.'s son V.M., was on the wanted list by law enforcement agencies in Russia and intended to arrive in Armenia to evade criminal liability, he neglected his official duties to ensure V.M.'s criminal prosecution, causing significant harm to the state’s legal interests.

Furthermore, from October 2014 to January 2016, M.M. facilitated the concealment of V.M., who had committed a crime. Subsequently, using his official position, he demanded and received a particularly large bribe, specifically 6,000,000 Russian rubles, equivalent to 68,160,000 Armenian drams, in exchange for facilitating V.M.'s issues regarding the Russian law enforcement’s search, granting him Armenian citizenship, and later providing him with military registration.

Additionally, in November 2015, with the direct intention of committing theft of particularly large amounts of someone else's property, the colonel threatened V.M. with violence and damage to his parents' property in Russia, demanding a payment equivalent to 7,160,000 Armenian drams or 1,000,000 Russian rubles for a property transaction in his favor.

Based on sufficient evidence, the colonel has been charged under Article 308, Part 1, Article 334, Part 1, Article 311, Part 4, Clause 2, and Article 182, Part 3, Clause 2 of the Armenian Criminal Code, with imprisonment chosen as a preventive measure. The preliminary investigation continues.