Corruption Schemes in Gyumri's Social Assistance Services: Regional Prosecutor Appeals to Minister

The Shirak Region Prosecutor's Office has conducted an investigation into cases of corruption recorded in the administrative territory of the region, revealing that corrupt practices continue to persist in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, specifically within social assistance and medical-social expertise agencies. The main characteristic of these practices is that criminal offenses are committed against the most vulnerable groups, including those in families experiencing social insecurity, individuals in dire economic circumstances, and those suffering from various illnesses and social disadvantages.

According to the Public Relations Department of the RA Prosecutor General's Office, factual data has been obtained indicating that five specialists from the territorial social assistance department No. 1 serving approximately 4,100 beneficiary families in Gyumri solicited and received illegal payments ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 AMD from several families registered in their department between March and June 2020, some of which were retained by them while others were handed over to the department head.

Moreover, employees of the same department collected payment from socially vulnerable citizens enrolling them in the social assistance program, demanding one month's worth of the allocated sum for three months (18,000 AMD), of which they transferred 10,000 AMD to the department head and kept 8,000 AMD for themselves. The department head also personally received illegal payments ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 AMD from beneficiaries during May and June 2020 in order to include them in the benefits system.

Charges have been brought against the department head under Article 311.1, Part 4, Point 2 of the RA Criminal Code, and against the five employees under various points of the same article’s Part 3. The department head is currently being held in custody as a preventive measure.

Similar alleged criminal acts have also been identified in Territorial Social Assistance Department No. 2 of Gyumri, leading to the initiation of another criminal case and charges against the department head under Article 311.1, Part 3, Point 3 of the RA Criminal Code, and against one employee under Parts 2 and 3 of the same article.

In another criminal investigation, evidence has emerged showing that the chairman of the medical-social expertise commission in Shirak Region No. 1, during examinations, solicited and received bribes from applicants for disability determination from 2019 until March 2020, reportedly distributing the funds among committee members at the end of work days, based on prior arrangements with fellow commission members. The chairman and two members have been charged under Article 311, Part 3, Points 2 and 3 of the RA Criminal Code, with bail applied as a preventive measure for the chairman.

The analysis indicates that a clearly established corruption scheme has been operating in these sectors, involving public servants endowed with relevant functions from the agency and medical-social commissions, beneficiaries, officials, commission members, and stakeholders in medical-social expertise. Despite the involvement of a considerable number of individuals in these criminal actions occurring openly, those engaged in the corruption scheme have had the opportunity to operate unimpeded for a long time, an issue that has remained under the radar of competent authorities endowed with internal supervisory functions within the Ministry. This situation suggests a rational inference that these officials have displayed negligence or inactivity, which harbors corruption risks and facilitates criminal acts.

Based on the above, Shirak Region Prosecutor Karen Gabrielyan has submitted a petition to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Zurabiy Batoyan, proposing effective measures to eliminate such corrupt and criminal phenomena, ascertain the causes of these violations, and address the issue of disciplining and holding accountable those inadequate in performing their duties related to supervising the activities of social service territorial departments and medical-social expertise commissions.