Russian Law Enforcement to Address Anna Vardanyan's Case Involving Pashinyan's Assistant

The case involving former Football Federation of Armenia president Ruben Hayrapetyan and his son, Rafik Hayrapetyan, will see a report submitted to Russian law enforcement authorities regarding illegal interference by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's assistant, Anna Vardanyan. This information was revealed to "Patsinfo" by the Hayrapetyans' lawyer, Amram Makinyan.

As previously reported, a controversial video surfaced, providing evidence that decisions regarding the charges in the case were coordinated with Pashinyan's assistant, Anna Vardanyan. Furthermore, she claimed the right to modify and give instructions to the investigator on what charges to bring against the Hayrapetyans.

On March 11, the prosecutor's office announced that media publications had been sent to the National Security Service (NSS) for material preparation, whereas, according to Article 190 of the RA Criminal Procedure Code, the investigation of crimes committed by officials and employees of law enforcement agencies is reserved for the Special Investigation Service, not the NSS.

Although both parties confirmed the correspondence between Anna Vardanyan and the investigator during the material preparation, the NSS decided to reject the initiation of a criminal case. Yesterday, lawyer Amram Makinyan published the NSS decision to reject the initiation of a criminal case on his Facebook page, revealing that the correspondence and Vardanyan's instructions were not denied by the parties, and even more, Vardanyan's email address was sent by the deputy head of the Investigative Committee. Additionally, Vardanyan is involved as an expert in the case.

Lawyer Amram Makinyan stated in an interview with "Patsinfo" that calling her an "expert" is the mildest description, making a mockery of the investigation and the legal system in Armenia. "We are very grateful to the NSS for confirming the two-way communication, confirming that Anna Vardanyan actually made changes to that decision with track changes, and confirmed that information containing Hayrapetyans' banking secrets was received," he added, stating that all legally permitted measures will be taken.

He emphasized that this is the best example of the corrupt manifestations of the new Armenia, and this textbook example should be sent to universities and justice academies so that children learn what should not be done.

The lawyer stated that he has requested all materials from the NSS and, upon receipt, will appeal to Russian law enforcement agencies. When we inquired whether the prosecutor's office had verified the legality of the decision to reject the initiation of a criminal case and confirmed it, the lawyer noted that he has no information regarding this matter. In addition, Makinyan intends to challenge the NSS's decision to reject the initiation of a criminal case, seeking to follow the criminal procedure path in Armenia.