50-Year-Old Man Bought Nearly 7,300 Sheep and Lambs, Paid Only Approximately 130 Million Drams; He Has Been Detained

A 50-year-old man has been charged with theft through the abuse of trust. Following extensive investigative and procedural actions conducted by the Main Investigative Department of the Special Cases of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, several circumstances of theft through trust abuse by a 50-year-old Russian citizen of Armenian descent were uncovered.

According to the data obtained during the investigation, the 50-year-old man, having a close relationship with a 60-year-old resident of Yerevan, convinced him that he could import lambs and sheep into Armenia from the Russian Federation, organize their slaughter, and make a considerable profit by selling the meat, due to his significant opportunities and connections in Russia.

In the autumn of 2018, the 60-year-old man learned from an Iranian citizen about the intention to import 28,000 kg of lamb meat from Volgograd, Russia, to Armenia. Trusting his acquaintance, the 60-year-old assured the Iranian citizen that he could organize the process. To this end, he received 75,000 USD and 26,000,000 AMD, which was equivalent to 36,124,500 AMD, from the Iranian citizen and handed it entirely to his 50-year-old acquaintance. The latter imported only 10,000 kg of lamb meat into Armenia.

When the 60-year-old man noticed that his acquaintance was not delivering the contracted quantity of meat to Armenia, he demanded the remaining payment for the 18,000 kg of lamb meat to return it to the Iranian citizen. However, the 50-year-old man did not return the funds, having embezzled a total of 43,200,000 AMD.

Additionally, during 2019, the 60-year-old resident of Yerevan brought a large number of lambs to a slaughterhouse located in the Kotayk region for slaughter. The 50-year-old man took advantage of the trust of the slaughterhouse worker and his father, without their knowledge or consent, and deceitfully offered to sell them 60 sheep, claiming he and the 60-year-old man were partners. The unsuspecting worker bought 60 sheep from him, paying a substantial amount of 2,400,000 AMD, which the 50-year-old then embezzled.

Subsequently, the 50-year-old man, misusing the trust of another 55-year-old resident of Yerevan, deceived him into believing he was engaged in the buying and selling of lambs. The 55-year-old, trusting him, sold him approximately 7,300 sheep and lambs in parts between August 9 and October 9, 2019, with the agreement that he would pay after selling them. The 50-year-old man paid him only about 130,000,000 AMD out of the sales, failing to pay the remaining approximately 196,000,000 AMD, which he embezzled.

Based on sufficient evidence, the 50-year-old man has been charged under Article 178, Part 3, Clause 1 (2 episodes) and Part 2, Clause 2 of the RA Criminal Code. He has been detained as a measure of restraint. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.