Ani Consolidated Community Leader Charged

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 179, Part 2, Point 1, and Article 308, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code regarding the embezzlement of significant property belonging to the community through official forgery committed by an official of the Maralik community. This case dates back to September 26, 2019.

Under the procedural supervision of the Shirak Prosecutor's Office, sufficient evidence was gathered during the preliminary investigation carried out by the RA Investigative Committee's regional investigative department, establishing that A.G., the head of Maralik community in Shirak Province (which has been part of the Ani consolidated community since November 2017), was fully aware that the person employed as a cleaner in the community administration had been absent from the Republic of Armenia from September to December 2012. Despite the absence and the failure to attend work or fulfill job responsibilities, A.G. approved the payment of salaries for those months based on blatantly false information regarding their employment.

As a result, by abusing his official position, A.G. misappropriated a substantial sum of money calculated and disbursed as salary for the aforementioned days in the name of that individual. Furthermore, it was also established that A.G. made a decision on December 11, 2011, to allocate an apartment from one of the buildings on Dzerzhinsky Street of Maralik city to his relative on a rental basis, without presenting the matter to the Maralik community council for discussion. Subsequently, on July 4, 2012, A.G. decided to grant that apartment, which had never been inhabited, to his relative as a donation, after which the apartment was transferred to her free of charge. This has caused significant harm to the legal interests of the community.

On February 17, 2021, A.G. was charged under Article 179, Part 2, Point 1, Article 314, Part 1, and Article 308, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code for the aforementioned criminal acts. The preliminary investigation is ongoing.