State Budget Allocates Additional 180 Million Drams; Criminal Case Related to Social Workers

The Main Department of Criminal Police has uncovered another case of corruption related to previous crimes. According to the press service of the Police of the Republic of Armenia, evidence was obtained that officials from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and heads of territorial social support divisions under local self-government bodies, in collaboration with the management of a charitable public organization, violated the requirements established by the government, causing significant harm to the state while acting for group interests and misusing their official positions.

From 2015 to 2018, the state budget allocated 200 million drams annually for the program "Social Services to the Elderly Living Alone in Regions, Persons with Disabilities in Home Care, and Day Care Centers," aiming to provide services to nearly four thousand individuals. To prevent the program volume from decreasing, each year between 900 to 1100 individuals were included in the program, despite their data not meeting the established criteria. As a result, over three years, with a total calculation of three thousand beneficiaries, an additional 180 million drams were allocated from the state budget due to criminal actions. The criminal case initiated based on these facts has been sent to the Investigative Committee for further investigation.