Investigation into Abuses by Manvel Grigoryan's Son and Other Officials Concluded

The investigation into the abuses committed by officials at the Vagarshapat (Ejmiadzin) municipality and its affiliated organizations has been completed by the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

The criminal case was initiated following the findings of inspections conducted by the State Control Service in the municipality, which revealed violations relating to embezzlement and abuse of official powers.

The investigation clarified and substantiated numerous offenses committed by various officials of the mentioned municipality and its budgetary institutions, leading to legal assessments of the actions of 31 officials and decisions made regarding the lack of criminal prosecution, including those without justification.

During extensive pre-trial proceedings, it was established that Karen Grigoryan, who served as Deputy Mayor of Ejmiadzin from November 1, 2005, to November 1, 2008, and as Mayor from November 1, 2008, to June 17, 2018, along with several heads of structural units under the municipality during their tenure, committed a range of criminal actions using their official positions.

Specifically, Grigoryan, as the head of the Vagarshapat community, directed the head of the budgetary organization 'Barerakum' to register a member of the 'Union of Volunteers' as a municipal employee based on a personal interest stemming from his connections with the organization. This led to the member being employed as a guard at 'Barerakum,' and despite not performing actual work, he received a total of 4,489,327 AMD as salary from the municipality's budget, causing substantial property damage to the community.

Additionally, it was found that Grigoryan had ordered the head of the 'Culture' administration to appoint the union member as the chief specialist in the external relations department, despite the individual not working and receiving a total of 5,276,579 AMD in salary from the municipality’s budget.

The investigation revealed a pattern of corrupt practices involving various municipal officials, including the manipulation of employment contracts and falsification of attendance records, resulting in significant financial losses to the community budget amounting to millions of AMD over several years.

In total, charges have been filed against Karen Grigoryan, the directors of the 'Barerakum' and 'Housing and Communal Administration' institutions, and others involved. They face numerous allegations under the Armenian Criminal Code, including embezzlement and abuse of official powers.

Following the investigation, a total of 25,999,100 AMD has been recovered and deposited into the State Investigative Committee's account, while seizures have been imposed on the movable property of the defendants concerning unrecovers losses amounting to 5,477,031 AMD.

The criminal case has been sent with an indictment conclusion to the prosecutor overseeing the investigation.