Criminal Cases in 2019 Increased by 37%: State Suffered Damage of 21.1 Billion Drams

The Economic Crimes Division of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has summarized the trends in economic crimes against economic activity during 2019 compared to 2018, the work carried out by law enforcement agencies in the direction of criminal prosecution, and the results of the prosecutorial functions during the preliminary and judicial investigations of such crimes. This information was provided by the Prosecutor's Office.

According to the summary, a total of 931 criminal cases related to economic crimes have been initiated in the judicial process of competent authorities (including 279 by the Investigative Committee of the State Revenue Committee), which is approximately 37% more compared to 2018. In addition to the initiated criminal cases, 269 criminal cases were accepted for investigation (177 in 2018). This increase is due to both the heightened level of public trust towards law enforcement agencies and active collaboration with them, as well as effective operational and investigative actions.

In total, 1,200 criminal cases of this nature were examined during 2019 (580 by the Investigative Committee of the State Revenue Committee) compared to 857 in 2018. This indicates that the workload of the preliminary investigation bodies and the prosecutor's office in terms of economic cases has increased by 40%. However, it was possible to complete 8.5% more criminal cases compared to 2018, meaning fewer unresolved cases were transferred to the next year.

A total of 31 criminal cases concerning 39 individuals, with accusatory conclusions, were sent to court. Furthermore, compared to 2018 (22 cases involving 29 individuals), the number of cases sent to court has increased by 8 or 36%, and the number of individuals prosecuted has increased by 10 or 34.5%.

Among the economic cases examined in the courts, 16 individuals were convicted, 14 of whom were sentenced to imprisonment. Notably, the cases concluded with a guilty verdict increased by 23% compared to 2018, while the number of convicted individuals increased by 29%.

Throughout 2019, the damage caused to the state as a result of economic crimes, during the preliminary investigation and trial stage of the ongoing criminal cases, amounted to 21.1 billion Armenian drams (of which 15.9 billion was attributed to the Investigative Committee of the State Revenue Committee). Out of this, 9.5 billion drams were recovered (of which 8.6 billion drams were recovered by the Investigative Committee of the State Revenue Committee). For comparison, in 2018, the identified damage caused to the state by such crimes amounted to 19.4 billion drams, which is 8.8% less, with 8.6 billion drams being recovered, which is 10.5% less.

To recover damages caused to the state, restraining orders totaling 2.6 billion drams were applied on the property and financial assets of the defendants in various cases during 2019. Additionally, in order to recover the damage caused to the state in examined and concluded criminal cases, approximately 160 million drams were demanded through lawsuits submitted to the court by the prosecutor's subdivisions, which were granted.

The outcomes of the criminal-legal fight against economic crimes are largely conditioned by the state's policy against the shadow economy on one hand, and the consistent, planned, and coordinated actions of the criminal prosecution bodies on the other. It is noteworthy that regarding the crime of non-payment of taxes, duties, or other mandatory payments, 382 cases were examined, which is 188 or 33% less than the 2018 figures. This decrease is attributed to effective criminal policy, the creation of more favorable conditions for economic actors, which in turn has led to a reduction in criminal avoidance of taxes, duties, or other payments.

These changes were also facilitated by modifications in tax legislation, which abolished certain types of taxes and mandatory payments, or allowed individuals exemption from certain previously taxable transactions. Moreover, clear criteria have been developed in the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the grounds for initiating proceedings concerning the aforementioned types of crimes, where only materials have been prepared in cases where these thresholds were exceeded.