Which Businessmen Bribed a High-Ranking Official in the Diamond Import Case

The National Security Service has just released a statement regarding the arrest of a high-ranking official. According to the statement, 1,776.84 carats of processed diamonds were imported into Armenia under the customs procedure of "release for internal consumption" from the UAE in the name of a company active in Armenia, with a total invoice value of 148,535 USD. The customs value amounted to 72,014,112 AMD. However, it was discovered that the market value of the diamonds imported under this declaration, which were examined by an expert on September 18, 2020, exceeds 420,000,000 AMD, resulting in large-scale customs duties not being calculated and paid to the state.

The head of the Licensing and Permits Department of the Ministry of Economy, A.N., received a substantial bribe on September 6, 2020, from one of the company's owners for concealing the actual value of the imported diamonds, paying lower customs duties, and for not conducting the appropriate inspections necessary to issue the corresponding state control act. Subsequently, he instructed the legal advisor to the Minister of Economy, V.S., to prepare and provide the representatives of the company with a fraudulent official document regarding the compliance of the diamond import declaration, which was carried out by V.S.

On January 26, 2021, A.N. was detained by the investigation department of the NSS on suspicion of receiving a substantial bribe and was arrested. The legal advisor to the Minister of Economy has provided confessional statements. This case has also seen the detention of the actual owners of the business operating in Armenia, as well as about a dozen individuals suspected of involvement in or connection to the alleged crime.

Armdaily.am presents the officials involved in the case. The officials mentioned in the statement have never given rise to such suspicions; they are quite experienced and have years of work history. The arrested official is Armen Nalbandyan, the head of the Licensing Department (formerly an agency). Those accused of bribing him are businessmen Armen and Artak Bagikyan, who are engaged in diamond processing.

In a conversation with us, the press secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Anahit Khechoyan, said that she has not received any documents regarding the dismissal of ministry staff. "The process is not yet concluded, so I believe it would be inappropriate to comment on this matter," she stated.

"AD Diamonds" has been in the spotlight since its opening day. According to information available in the media, the businessmen mentioned in the NSS statement are Armen and Artak Bagikyan, who opened the "AD Diamonds" diamond factory in Abovyan on December 2, 2019. Shortly after the opening, it caught the media's attention. The official opening ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, but it was revealed that the ADM Diamonds company had actually started operations in Armenia as early as 2017. By the end of 2018, the company had 90 employees, and as of December 2020, there were 218 registered employees. In 2019, only the building conditions were improved, allowing for a greater number of employees.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister had noted on his page that a new diamond processing factory with an additional 700 job openings had been opened. On January 16 of this year, Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan met with representatives of Armenia's diamond processing and jewelry companies at the ADM Diamonds factory to discuss ongoing issues in those sectors. Internet searches revealed that businessman Armen Bagikyan, head of ADM Diamonds ELLC, participated in a fundraising event for the "My Step" alliance in November 2018.

In response to a phone call from ArmDaily.am, the company’s operator mentioned that the company continues to operate. She also stated that the company leaders are not present at the moment and it is difficult to say when they will be available. When asked if they were with the NSS and whether NSS employees had visited the company, she stated that she could not answer that question.