Director of 'Zeytuni Furniture Factory' Owned by Ruben Hayrapetyan and Technical Supervisor of HFF Arrested

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has obtained information regarding abuses committed by the 'Zeytuni Furniture Factory' LLC, which is effectively owned by former HFF president Ruben Hayrapetyan, during the construction of sports grounds commissioned by the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA).

This was reported by the acting head of the public relations department of the Investigative Committee, Naira Harutyunyan, on her Facebook page. She stated: 'As part of the criminal case under investigation by the General Investigations Department of the Investigative Committee regarding the abuses committed by the 'Zeytuni Furniture Factory' LLC, which is effectively owned by the former president of the HFF, Ruben Hayrapetyan, during the construction of sports grounds, extensive investigative and procedural actions have been carried out in collaboration with the staff of the General Department of Combatting Corruption of the Police.'

Harutyunyan noted that during the period of cooperation with the FFA from 2012 to 2018, contracts were signed as part of the management of construction and renovation works for football stadiums and sports schools in the administrative areas of Sisian, Sevan, Vanadzor, Armavir, Vagharshapat, Gyumri, and Nerkhin Karmir Aghbyur by the contractor 'Zeytuni Furniture Factory' LLC. It is alleged that the director of the company and the employee responsible for technical supervision from the FFA acted with the common intent of committing large-scale theft by using their official positions to defraud the contractor.'

Considering that evidence has been collected within the framework of the criminal case against the director of 'Zeytuni Furniture Factory' LLC and the technical supervisor of the FFA for committing crimes stipulated in part 1 of article 178 and article 325, decisions have been made regarding their arrest, which has been entrusted to the staff of the General Department of Combatting Corruption of the Police.

'The investigation continues, and measures are being taken to ensure a comprehensive, objective, and multifaceted examination of the case, to clarify the entire circumstances and complexity of the committed abuses, to identify those responsible, and to hold them criminally accountable. The investigation is ongoing,' Harutyunyan concluded.