Martuni and Sevan Passport Departments' Heads Temporarily Suspended

The investigation department of the National Security Service of Armenia has established that the senior inspector of the Sevan division of the Road Police service committed apparent illegal actions in favor of three individuals within the scope of his official authority. Specifically, for obtaining driver's licenses, he accepted examinations and issued licenses in violation of procedures without verifying the theoretical knowledge and practical driving skills of applicants, and for this, he reportedly received bribes ranging from 120,000 to 200,000 AMD from three individuals, including the head of the Martuni passport division of the Police Passport and Visa Department.

In all three cases, the bribes were transferred through intermediaries, with the head of the Sevan passport division also reportedly involved in one instance. To cover up the fact of receiving bribes in two cases and create the illusion of providing licenses in accordance with established procedures, the inspector accepted practical examinations from two of the bribe-payers and assessed them negatively. Subsequently, on the same day, he conducted practical examinations again and, abusing his official powers, drafted a report indicating that the individuals had correctly performed the required actions during the practical exam, despite them not completing the necessary tasks.

For these criminal acts, the senior inspector of the Sevan division has been charged with two counts under Part 1 of Article 308 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (abuse of official powers), two counts under Article 311, Part 3, Clause 3 (receiving a large bribe), and one count under Part 2 of Article 311 (receiving a bribe for an obvious illegal act).

The court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan, considering that the accused could obstruct judicial proceedings or hide from judicial authorities and commit new illegal acts, granted the pre-trial body’s request to impose pre-trial detention as a measure of restraint. At the same time, it accepted an alternative measure for detention through bail replacing the lawyer's application.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has filed an appeal against this decision, which was satisfied by the Court of Appeals on May 19, 2020, recognizing the application of bail as unacceptable, and the individual has been detained.

During the pre-trial investigation, charges were also brought against five other individuals. Specifically, one individual is charged under Article 38-308, Part 1 (aiding in abuse of official powers) and Article 312, Part 2 (giving a large bribe), another individual, the head of the Martuni passport division, is charged under Article 312, Part 1, and three individuals, including the head of the Sevan passport division, are charged under Article 313, Part 1 (intermediary in bribery). These individuals have been subjected to preventive measures of non-leaving signatures.

The pre-trial investigation continues. On May 2, the prosecutor overseeing the legality of the pre-trial investigation consented to the temporary suspension of the heads of the Martuni and Sevan passport departments, based on the decision of the pre-trial body.

Notice: The suspect or defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, by a final judgment of the court.