NSS Uncovers Criminal Group Engaged in Extortion

The National Security Service of Armenia has uncovered a criminal group involved in extortion. The NSS's full statement follows.

In line with its commitment to protect constitutional rights of individuals and citizens, particularly the right to property from publicly dangerous infringements, the NSS has been persistently combating crimes targeting property, economy, and economic activities. Through special operational and investigative measures, the NSS obtained substantial evidence that a group of citizens in Armenia, having united and agreed upon a plan, was aware that under the Government's decision dated September 9, 2010, number 1251-N, in cases of loss of paired license plates, identical plates would not be issued to the owner. Instead, the owners are obliged to pay the value of the registration plate again to the relevant authorities for recovery. Taking advantage of this situation, they developed a criminal mechanism for extorting property from others and distributed roles for the effective execution of this plot.

The group members decided to secretly take possession of highly sought-after registration plates, which are usually more expensive, parked in various locations in Yerevan during night hours. They left their registered usernames from the messaging application “Telegram” on the windshields of the vehicles and hid the illegally obtained registration plates in inconspicuous hiding places nearby, invisible to others. When vehicle owners were able to contact them, the group demanded monetary transfers in the form of cryptocurrency to their accounts in exchange for the return of the stolen plates, threatening to destroy the plates if the owners did not comply.

As a result of this criminal mechanism, from April to June 2021, these individuals illegally and secretly seized a number of vehicles in Yerevan, taking ordinary but expensive registration plates valued at 250,000 AMD or more. After establishing contact with the victims, they compelled them to purchase cryptocurrency from the mentioned accounts and transfer it to their digital wallets. Following these transactions, they sent brief messages to the vehicle owners informing them where the registration plates were hidden.

During the execution of their next criminal intent, the identities of the group members were revealed through operational measures taken by NSS employees, leading to their arrest and transportation to the NSS.

In connection with the case, two individuals have been arrested based on direct suspicion arising from the commission of the crime during the preliminary investigation initiated by the NSS’s investigative department. They have provided confessions. A sufficient combination of irrefutable evidence obtained through various investigative and procedural actions has led to these individuals being charged, and they have been detained as a preventive measure.

The NSS urges citizens who may have fallen victim to such criminal schemes to inform law enforcement immediately before entering negotiations with the criminals, enabling effective operational measures to be taken and uncovering other groups operating under the same criminal scheme in the Republic of Armenia.

At the same time, vehicle owners whose registration plates were stolen and whose vehicles bore data from Telegram accounts such as “@RR407,” “LIMONA 001,” “DUDI 001,” “CRIMINAL NIGHT,” and “Թութան Համոն” are encouraged to report this to the NSS to ascertain the full scope of the victims of the criminal scheme and to initiate actions for the recovery of their property damages.

The suspect or accused in the alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the manner prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia with a legally binding court verdict.