Evidence Exists to Involve Vigen Sargsyan as a Defendant in Abuse of Official Powers Case

The Investigation Committee of Armenia has gathered sufficient evidence to involve former Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan as a defendant regarding the abuse of official powers. This case relates to the irregularities in the allocation of apartments on 25/6 G. Hasratyan Street in Yerevan in January 2018 by officials of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the Armenian Armed Forces.

The criminal case has been initiated under Articles 308 and 309, Part 1 of the Armenian Criminal Code, which pertains to the abuse of official powers and the transfer of official authority. The investigation has found that the allocation of apartments was conducted in violation of the procedures set by the Armenian Government’s decision No. 384-N of March 7, 2007, and the order No. 287 of the Minister of Defense dated March 19, 2013.

According to the established regulations, the authority to discuss the provision of residential conditions for military personnel in need of improvement was reserved for the Central Housing Commission of the MoD, which was to operate in accordance with the aforementioned government decision. However, the Minister of Defense made a decision regarding 29 out of 71 apartments in the specified building without any discussion by the commission, which led to violations of the established procedures.

The commission subsequently allocated several apartments in that building at the instruction of the Minister of Defense, also in violation of the procedures, resulting in substantial harm to the rights of military personnel needing permanent living space in the MoD system, as well as to the legitimate interests of the state.

Considering that, according to Part 6 of Article 190 of the Armenian Criminal Procedure Code, the investigation into offenses committed by leaders of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, as well as public servants related to their official positions, is conducted by investigators of the Special Investigative Service, the criminal case has been transferred to the Special Investigative Service for further investigation.