Avshar Former School Put Up for Sale on List.am; Criminal Case Initiated

The criminal cases initiated against me are still ongoing. This was stated by Ararat Governor Garik Sargsyan during a meeting with journalists today.

Sargsyan mentioned that five criminal cases have been initiated, filed by former employees of the regional administration and former directors of medical centers. The Ararat Regional Administration has also filed claims.

“We demand the immediate initiation of a criminal case against a former director of one medical center, as he engaged in unauthorized activities for years, raising his salary and receiving higher pay than specified in the contract for years. We are talking about the director of ‘Vedi’ Medical Center; the case is currently in court, and it had been dismissed during the investigative process. We are now appealing for the case to be opened and for the damages to be restored,” Sargsyan said.

Garik Sargsyan also addressed the remaining criminal cases, particularly noting that judicial proceedings will soon begin against the current head of the Avshar community, Surik Grigoryan. According to the governor, the community leader turned state property into the community's ownership and then illegally appropriated it.

“According to government decision 51 from 1997, several properties were transferred to communities. The community leader found that a large school building could be made communal under the social-living category and then sold at auction to his driver, who subsequently sold it to the community leader’s daughter. It is clear that it is in the daughter’s name, but it belongs to the community leader. He entered into a contract with his daughter and rented the area for four years at a monthly fee of 120,000 drams. We discovered this in the spring of 2019, sent an inquiry to the Cadastre Committee, and forwarded the cases to the Prosecutor's Office, resulting in a criminal case. They have admitted their guilt,” Sargsyan emphasized, adding that the restoration of state interests and the return of the school building to the state is expected.

According to Sargsyan, everything was revealed when the community leader attempted to sell the property: “An advertisement was posted on List.am, and the property was put up for sale for over $200,000, around $240,000. They were trying to sell it,” the governor stated.