Bail Set at 5 Million Drams for Former Davtashen Community Leader

The former head of the Davtashen administrative district, Ruslan Baghdasaryan, has had bail set against him amounting to 5 million drams. This information was provided to Haykakan Zhamanak by his attorney, Hrant Ananyan.

According to the defense attorney, they had proposed a bail amount of 3 million drams, but the court, under the presiding judge Artush Gabrielyan, decided to set the bail at 5 million drams.

In response to our inquiry regarding Baghdasaryan's stance on the charges brought against him, Hrant Ananyan stated, "The charges are unfounded, and my client does not accept any of the allegations made against him. One piece of the accusation pertains to the registration of certain employees who did not fulfill their responsibilities, and the other involves misappropriations within the 'Davtashen' foundation."

Ananyan elaborated that Baghdasaryan was once the chairman of the board of the mentioned foundation: "If you look at his Facebook page, you will see that he often criticizes the current mayor, and it seems like sharp criticism prompts the city authorities to initiate some action against him. It appears they are preoccupied with uncovering alleged crimes and tarnishing my client’s reputation," he added during our conversation.

It is important to recall that Baghdasaryan is charged under Article 179, Part 3, Clause 1 of the RA Criminal Code (large-scale embezzlement), Article 314 (official forgery), and Article 325, Part 2 (forgery of documents carried out by a group of individuals based on prior agreement).

Recently, the Police reported that, according to currently known data from the investigation, based on oral orders from the former head of the administrative district, false documents were composed and signed to provide financial assistance to various municipal employees and residents in the district, resulting in the embezzlement of over 9,000,000 drams between 2012 and 2014.

Based on the information prepared, it has been determined that during the period from 2009 to 2018, various positions were authorized within the staff of the former head of the Davtashen administrative district, but, in reality, close individuals to the former leader did not attend work. As a result of failing to fulfill the obligations stipulated by orders and employment contracts, a total of 41,720,929 drams in salaries was issued in their names, which was subsequently embezzled through wasteful means.