Criminal Case Opened Against Former Head of State Revenue Committee Mihran Poghosyan for Falsified Documents

A criminal case has been opened regarding the inconsistencies found in the documents submitted by former head of the State Revenue Committee Mihran Poghosyan concerning his studies at the Moscow Polytechnic University. The Armenian police informed "Factinfo" that the criminal case was initiated based on the first part of Article 349 of the RA Criminal Code, which pertains to the falsification of evidence in civil or administrative proceedings.

As previously reported, Mihran Poghosyan was presented as a candidate for deputy from the "Honorable" alliance in the extraordinary parliamentary elections held on June 20, 2021. According to legislative regulations, only those individuals who have been present in Armenia for the last four years are eligible to participate as candidates in the elections; however, it is known that Mihran Poghosyan has been residing in the Russian Federation for an extended period.

On May 18, 2021, a representative of Mihran Poghosyan applied to the Passport and Visa Department of the RA Police, requesting a certificate stating that Poghosyan had only been an Armenian citizen and had permanently resided in Armenia for the last four years. Along with the application, they submitted a decree from the Moscow Polytechnic University dated July 11, 2020, No. 1360-OD, regarding Poghosyan's admission to the first year of the master's program at the university. However, based on the submitted documents, it was determined that Poghosyan had been absent from Armenia for 753 out of the 1,461 days preceding the date of the application, exceeding the legally stipulated period by 22 days, which led to the denial of the certificate request.

According to a statement from the police, on May 20, 2021, a second application was received from a representative of Mihran Poghosyan at the Administrative Division of the RA Police, requesting a reconsideration of the certificate issuance and also presenting a decree from the Moscow Polytechnic University dated January 15, 2020, No. 0089-OD, regarding Poghosyan's enrollment in preparatory courses from January 25 to May 31, 2020.

"To verify the authenticity of the presented decrees and documents, an inquiry was made to the Moscow Polytechnic University on May 22, 2021. Pending the response to the inquiry, Poghosyan's representative filed a lawsuit in the RA Administrative Court seeking to compel the issuance of the certificate. On May 25, 2021, the court upheld the lawsuit, also basing its decision on the decree from Moscow Polytechnic University regarding Poghosyan's enrollment in preparatory courses, and ordered the Passport and Visa Department of the RA Police to issue the certificate. The court's ruling was final and not subject to appeal. In execution of the court's decision, the requested certificate was issued to Mihran Poghosyan on May 25, 2021.

Subsequently, on May 26, 2021, the Passport and Visa Department of the RA Police received a response from the Moscow Polytechnic University stating that Mihran Poghosyan had not been enrolled in the preparatory courses, and the issuance of the decree dated January 15, 2020, No. 0089-OD, and the certificate dated May 21, 2021, No. 1427 were both refuted by the university," the police statement noted.

It is worth mentioning that additionally, a third certificate was submitted from the Belgorod State National Research University, stating that Mihran Poghosyan was enrolled in preparatory courses organized under the program of "Human Capital Management" from January 15 to May 31, 2020.