Former Minister Built a Summer House Without Permission on the Territory of Sevan National Park

Investigations into a criminal case have revealed that a plot of state property measuring 10,526 square meters located in the territory of Sevan National Park in the Draakhtik community of Gegharkunik province has been usurped. In 2015, without the proper authorization for construction, unauthorized buildings were erected on the site.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia reports that during this period, officials from the Sevan National Park and the relevant authorities of the Draakhtik community intentionally took no measures to halt the illegal occupation of the land or the unauthorized construction of buildings and structures. No administrative actions were taken against the individuals who unlawfully occupied the land and constructed the unauthorized structures.

On December 12, 2016, an inter-agency competition commission conducted a competition for the aforementioned plot as stipulated by a decision of the Government of Armenia, resulting in a resident of Yerevan being declared the winner. Based on a decision by the board of Sevan National Park on December 26, 2016, this individual was granted the right to lease and develop the specified plot of land measuring 1.0526 hectares for 25 years, with the obligation to invest 250 million AMD in the construction of a recreational area within two years.

Subsequently, in May 2017, a contract was signed for the granting of the right to develop the state property, despite the fact that the land had already been occupied and unauthorized buildings had been erected on it.

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case revealed that the head of the Artanish branch of Sevan National Park and an inspector from the same branch were fully aware of the illegal construction of unauthorized structures on the state property, yet took no measures to stop them. Meanwhile, the former head of the Draakhtik community, aware that the former minister was constructing a summer house on the site without the necessary permits, intentionally failed to apply administrative penalties against the individual carrying out the unauthorized construction.

Furthermore, knowing that the summer house had already been constructed, the community leader prepared a false architectural plan as an official document, which contained fabricated information claiming that the plot of land was undeveloped and partially wooded. Based on this document, the aforementioned competition regarding the state property was held by the inter-agency commission on December 12, 2016, and a contract was signed regarding the granting of the right to develop the state property.

The preliminary investigation has established that the actions of the former community leader fall under Article 314, Part 1, and Article 315.2 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, while the actions of the head of the Artanish branch of Sevan National Park and the inspector from the same branch have the characteristics of a crime as provided by Article 308, Part 1 of the Criminal Code.

However, considering that the unauthorized buildings were constructed between 2010 and 2015, the statute of limitations for prosecuting the crime has expired, and the fact that all these officials expressed remorse for their actions and requested that no criminal prosecution be carried out against them based on the expiration of the statute of limitations, the prosecuting body decided on March 4, 2020, not to carry out criminal prosecution against them on the basis of the act of amnesty and the expiration of the statute of limitations.

According to the contract signed between the legal entity and the citizen in May 2017, no time limit was set for completing the development, and to date, no construction permits have been issued by the community leader to the developer. According to Article 102, Part 1, Item 4 of the Land Code of Armenia, rights over the land shall terminate by court order if the land granted for development or part of it is not utilized within three years.

The deadline for carrying out and completing the development expires on May 3, 2020, and the state, as the landowner, has the right to initiate legal proceedings to terminate the developer's rights over the plot.