NSS Reveals Bribery Case Involving Environmental Expert from State Owned Organization

The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia has unveiled a case of bribery as part of its ongoing and uncompromising fight against various forms of corruption, remaining committed to its policy of eradicating such practices. This was announced by the NSS website.

According to factual data received, an expert from the Ministry of Environment’s “Environmental Impact Assessment Expertise Center” received a large bribe while acting in his capacity as a public official, ignoring the prohibition on providing consultancy to the applicant related to the examination process. The bribe was received for carrying out actions in favor of the director of an economic entity.

Specifically, this official was required to facilitate the issuance of a mining permit, draft relevant documents instead of the director of the economic entity to eliminate obstacles in this matter, fail to disclose the actual geological coordinates of the mining site to the relevant authorities, and provide a draft positive conclusion. From September 2019 to February 8, 2020, he received a substantial bribe amounting to 3,300,000 AMD during various meetings.

On February 18, 2020, under the supervision of the NSS operational units and with irrefutable evidence, the mentioned expert was caught red-handed receiving the next installment of the bribe adjacent to Republic Square in Yerevan and was detained by NSS employees. A personal search revealed and confiscated the subject of the bribe.

A criminal case has been initiated at the NSS Investigation Department in accordance with the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia concerning these apparent criminal offenses, and both the official who received the bribe and the economic entity that initiated the examination have been arrested. The investigation is ongoing, and measures are being taken to uncover possible other instances of bribery and to hold accountable any other individuals involved in the corruption chain.