Former Deputy Minister of Finance Caused State Damage of 1.7 Billion Drams: NSS Disclosure

The National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, adhering to the principle of rooting out various manifestations of corruption, has disclosed a case of significant damage to the state caused by officials within the framework of the criminal case initiated and investigated by the Investigative Department of the NSS in February 2019 regarding the abuse of official powers by several high-ranking officials of the State Revenue Committee.

It has been established that during the period from 2014 to 2016, the individual who held the position of Deputy Minister of Finance of Armenia, acting on behalf of the authorities, along with the former Minister of Finance, used their official position contrary to the interests of the service. They aimed to present international cooperation efforts in as positive a light as possible, and to give the appearance of enhancing customs administration, despite ignoring the real needs of customs bodies and the credible data and calculations submitted by competent officials to the government of Armenia.

As a result of these actions, they acquired 8,500 units of electronic locks worth 2,282,387,249 AMD, which did not correspond to the actual requirements of the customs service. It has been determined that for the needs of the customs system, a maximum of 2,000 locks were necessary, and until October 2019, only 251 locks had actually been utilized. Consequently, the actions of these two high-ranking officials, the former Minister of Finance and his deputy, have not only disrupted the normal functioning of the state body but have also resulted in a substantial monetary loss of 1,747,195,905 AMD to the state, causing severe repercussions.

Based on the interrelated credible evidence collected during the investigation, a decision has been made to involve the former deputy minister of finance as a defendant under the relevant article of the criminal code of Armenia. Taking into account the fact that he left the territory of the Republic of Armenia in June 2018, an international search warrant has been issued against him, and pre-trial detention has been selected as a measure of restraint by the court. The preliminary investigation continues with measures being taken to locate the fugitive and establish his connection to other criminal incidents.

Notice: The suspect or defendant for the alleged crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, based on a legally binding court decision.