Tax Inspector Charged with Accepting Bribes

During the investigation of a criminal case by the Special Investigative Service of Armenia, sufficient evidence has been obtained indicating that tax inspectors from the Erevan division of the State Revenue Committee have repeatedly demanded bribes from a business operator in exchange for not recording violations and not resolving the issues in the manner prescribed by law.

In April 2020, senior tax inspector A. P. and tax inspector V. S. visited a confectionery store in Yerevan where they were not provided with a cash register receipt during a control purchase. Additionally, the person conducting sales at the shop was not registered as an employee. In order to avoid recording the identified violations, the tax inspectors demanded a bribe from the store manager. Subsequently, throughout 2020, A. P. and V. S. repeatedly demanded and received bribes from the store manager as part of a group and with prior agreement for not recording the violations and failing to resolve them as required by law.

For the actions described above, on March 4, 2021, V. S. was charged under the 3rd part of Article 311 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The investigator has submitted a petition to the First Instance Court of Yerevan for the selection of detention as a measure of restraint against V. S. A. P. was already charged on January 28, 2021, under the 3rd part of Article 311 of the Criminal Code, points 2 and 3, with detention chosen as a measure of restraint against him. The investigation of the criminal case is ongoing.