Report on President's Dual Citizenship Concealment Sent to Special Investigation Service

The fact of Armenian President Armen Sarkissian's dual citizenship concealment has led to a report filed by 53 lawyers being sent to the Armenian Prosecutor's Office, and subsequently forwarded to the Special Investigation Service. This was announced today, April 1, by Arevik Khachatryan, head of the Public Relations Department of the Prosecutor's Office.

Previously, NEWS.am had presented the content of the lawyers' report regarding the crime. According to the report, Armen Sarkissian held citizenship of the United Kingdom for at least 10 years from 2003 to 2012 and was elected as President of Armenia on March 2, 2018, despite not meeting the requirement of having been a citizen of Armenia only for the last six years.

Armen Sarkissian could have been elected President of Armenia only if his UK citizenship had been terminated prior to March 1, 2012 (March 1, 2018 — 6 years).

The head of the Presidential Administration referred to a certificate provided under Armenian legislation regarding the President's citizenship, which was presented during the presidential election process to the National Assembly of Armenia.

Notably, there is a letter from the head of the Passport and Visa Department of the Armenian Police, A. Mkrtchyan, dated March 25, 2021, stating that no information existed in the state register about President Armen Sarkissian being a citizen of another country, including as of March 2, 2018.

The data in the state population register of the RA Police's Passport and Visa Department are processed based on information provided by the citizen or obtained from competent authorities in Armenia. Foreign citizenship is considered data subject to processing and is registered only if the individual presents a document confirming citizenship of another country.

For the presidential election, the information certifying that A. Sarkissian had been only a citizen of Armenia for six years was issued based on data available in the state population register of the Passport and Visa Department of the Armenian Police and his declaration in the application stating that he was not a citizen of another state. It should also be noted that no legal act establishes other regulations for verifying one's sole citizenship of the Republic of Armenia.