359 Individuals Involved in Theft at Dalma Mall and Yerevan Mall

Following the initiative of the Head of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, Hayk Grigoryan, a working discussion was held on effectively organizing investigations into thefts committed in large shopping centers in Yerevan. The meeting was attended by officials from the Police of Armenia, the National Security Service of Armenia, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the Human Rights Defender's Office. Present were also MP Harutyun Babayan from the "Enlightened Armenia" faction of the National Assembly and representatives from various companies operating at Dalma Garden Mall and Yerevan Mall.

Arthur Melikyan, the Deputy Head of the Investigative Committee and Chief of the Main Investigation Department, presented information regarding the criminal cases investigated by the Investigative Committee's subdivisions in response to thefts and attempts in several stores within Dalma Garden Mall and Yerevan Mall. As a result of studies and visits to the shopping centers conducted on the instruction of the Head of the Investigative Committee, it was revealed that, as a rule, criminals were caught when they attempted to disconnect alarms attached to stolen items, as security personnel approached them in response to an alarm, and instances were recorded with the help of surveillance equipment. Only in 7 cases did security staff notice the acts of theft in real-time and apprehend the criminals.

Among the individuals responsible for thefts at the two shopping centers, 11 faced pre-trial detention, while the remaining 348 were subjected to non-custodial measures, indicating that detention was not applied in 96.9% of the cases. Of the 359 individuals involved in thefts, 71 were from the regions, and 288 were residents of administrative units serviced by various police departments in Yerevan.

The economic damage caused to the businesses as a result of these thefts amounted to 22,600,000 AMD, of which 15,500,000 AMD has been recovered. There has been no seizure of the property of the accused for the purpose of recovering damages, primarily due to a lack of such properties.

During the meeting, it was decided that the police would conduct a study to determine how many resources are necessary to prevent thefts in shopping centers. Other agencies were tasked with submitting their proposals to the Committee within a week to address the existing issues.

It is noteworthy that representatives of "Dalma Invest" and "Yerevan Mall" LLC, as well as several businesses operating within the aforementioned shopping centers, had previously addressed a letter to the Head of the Investigative Committee, Hayk Grigoryan, requesting the implementation of necessary measures for stricter procedural actions against repeat offenders who committed thefts from these companies. The Investigative Committee also sent a similar letter to MP Harutyun Babayan from the "Enlightened Armenia" faction.