Another Case of Bribery Uncovered: Officials Arrested for Accepting Bribes

The National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, in its consistent and uncompromising fight against various manifestations of corruption and in adherence to its policy of rooting them out, has uncovered yet another apparent case of bribery involving employees of the 'National Body for Standards and Metrology' LLC. This revelation comes as a result of operational investigative measures and investigative actions undertaken within the framework of the law on countering corruption.

According to gathered factual data, the head of the mass and diagonal measurements laboratory, an official of the 'National Body for Standards and Metrology' LLC, possessing the responsibilities of managing, coordinating, and organizing the subdivision's work, is accountable for the proper performance of checking measurement instruments in the area of mass and diagonal measurements. Contrary to the prohibition established by Article 29 of the Law on Public Service of the Republic of Armenia concerning the execution of official duties, he, in preliminary agreement with specialists of the same laboratory, accepted bribes from entrepreneurs in exchange for overlooking violations discovered during the verification of measurement results.

From mid-2019 to April 23, 2020, besides the mandatory fees issued through invoices for services rendered to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs following calibration of measuring instruments, they received various amounts of bribes for not recording the identified violations in the measurement results and for a generally favorable attitude.

Operational investigative measures established that the collected bribe amounts were transferred to the head of the said LLC's laboratory by underlings in his office, during which time these individuals were apprehended by staff of the NSS.

The objects of bribery were discovered and seized, and the individuals receiving bribes admitted to the commission of the crime. Based on relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, criminal proceedings have been initiated in the NSS investigative department regarding the apparent criminal offense, leading to the arrest of the officials who accepted bribes.

The pre-investigation continues, and appropriate actions are being taken to uncover other possible bribery incidents and to identify and hold accountable other individuals involved in the corruption chain.

Notice: A suspect or accused in a purported crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, by a legally binding court decision.