Charges Filed Against the Head of Aragatsavan Community

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia reports that sufficient evidence has been gathered in the investigation of a criminal case initiated under Article 308, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia in the Aragatsotn Regional Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee, confirming the commission of apparent corrupt practices by the head of the Aragatsavan community.

According to the Public Relations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office, it has been established that the community leader, lacking proper organization of local tax collection as prescribed by law, allocated a total of 13,605,960 AMD from collected budget funds to 339 residents of the community in 2018 through 13 decisions, driven by personal interest in ensuring tax collection indicators. This allocation was framed as social assistance to improve the living conditions of the disabled, families that lost their breadwinners, and other socially vulnerable groups.

In this context, under the guise of social assistance, sums exceeding the legally defined 50,000 AMD were distributed to 86 residents based on decisions of the community council, totaling a particularly large amount of 5.5 million AMD. Subsequently, these funds were recorded in the community budget as payments by residents to meet their tax obligations, allegedly to present higher tax collection indicators.

For these alleged criminal acts, charges have been filed against A. P., the head of Aragatsavan community, under Article 308, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, with the preventive measure selected being a signature not to leave.

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case has been completed. Given that the circumstances revealed may have spatial implications, involving other communities across the republic, Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan has appealed to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Suren Papikyan, to take measures within the scope of their authority to prevent and exclude such scenarios.

At the same time, the Prosecutor General has instructed to examine the possible existence of similar schemes during the investigation of corruption cases related to local self-government bodies under the framework of prosecutorial oversight.

Notification: The suspect or accused in the alleged crime is considered innocent until proven guilty by a legally binding court decision in accordance with the established procedure of the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.