48 Million Dram Embezzlement in the Construction Process of the 'Armavir' Penitentiary

The Office of the General Prosecutor of Armenia has reviewed documents obtained from the Ministry of Justice regarding the construction works of the 'Armavir' Penitentiary from 2007 to 2015. It has been found that after the completion of the construction works, a commission established by the order of the Minister of Justice accepted the 'Armavir' Penitentiary for operation on January 20, 2016.

For the purpose of implementing project and budgetary works, a total of 119 million AMD has been paid from the state budget to the company declared the winner of the competition announced in 2006, while 9,827,762,139 AMD was allocated to the company that performed the construction works.

By an order from July 20, 2019, a commission was formed to conduct investigations in the 'Armavir' penitentiary, which carried out an actual inventory and review of project, budgetary, and accounting documents. It was determined that the doors, installed pumps, and water-heating boilers in the 'Armavir' penitentiary did not match the data reflected in the project, contractual agreements, and performance acts.

Notably, the apparent damage caused to the state concerning the specially equipped locks in the institution's cells alone amounts to approximately 48 million AMD.

The findings indicate that the employees of the construction company performed their duties inadequately, installing materials that did not meet the quality stipulated in the project and budget plans. Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Justice's penitentiary system effectively accepted work that was not completed and did not correspond to the standards set in the project and budgetary documents through fabricated performance acts.

Taking into account the materials regarding the investigations conducted at the 'Armavir' penitentiary, which contain signs of criminal activity, a criminal case has been initiated under Article 178, Part 3, Clause 1, Article 308, Part 2, and Article 314 of the Criminal Code of Armenia against employees of the construction company for embezzlement of significant amounts from the state budget, and against relevant officials for abuse of power and official forgery. The execution of the preliminary investigation has been entrusted to the Special Investigative Service of Armenia.