NSS Arrests Colonel in $42 Million Worthless Weapons Case

Yesterday, we reported that there is a detained individual in the investigation into the alleged worthless weapons purchased for $42 million during the presidency of the third President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan. Significant information has emerged on this topic regarding a source from Factor.am. According to reliable sources of the news outlet, the detained individual is Vahan Avetisyan, the former head of the Radioelectronics Warfare Division of the Armed Forces General Staff.

It should be recalled that on March 11, during the pre-election campaign for the constitutional referendum in the Tatev community of Syunik Province, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented on the statement by former President Serzh Sargsyan that Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan. Among other accusations, Pashinyan stated that Sargsyan's government had purchased weapons for $42 million that cannot be used in military operations.

Following the Prime Minister's remarks, neither the NSS (National Security Service) nor the Prosecutor General's Office has officially released any information regarding this case. In response to our numerous inquiries, both agencies have indicated that they cannot provide details related to the criminal case for security reasons.

However, Colonel Vahan Avetisyan, who is currently in isolation at the NSS, was arrested on February 29, ten days before the Prime Minister's statement. Shushan Stepanyan, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, told Factor.am that Avetisyan has been dismissed from the military. We learned that he was removed from the system on January 14, 2019.

Additionally, it should be noted that on April 3, Avetisyan addressed Prime Minister Pashinyan with an open letter from the detention center, claiming that he is being pursued by the Chief of the General Staff Artak Davtyan and his deputy Stepanyan Galstyan. According to Avetisyan, they are obstructing his activities in the April Investigative Commission of the National Assembly. Following his dismissal from the Ministry of Defense, Avetisyan had started working as an expert in this commission.

For more details, visit the original source.