Charges Filed Against Former Mayor of Meghri, His Deputy, and Chief Specialist: Investigative Committee Details

The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia has revealed significant details regarding a criminal case involving corrupt practices by officials of the Meghri Municipality. Following extensive investigative activities, it was uncovered that Mikayel Zakaryan, the former head of the Meghri community, abused his official powers starting September 23, 2016. He allegedly committed official forgery and violated the requirements of the Armenian Law on Local Self-Government, acting out of personal interests and group benefits, to organize the alienation of a 0.4388-hectare plot of land included in the list of limitations under the Armenian Land Code.

Specifically, it was determined that on May 20, 2011, a decision by the Meghri community council permitted the leasing of the mentioned land for a period of 25 years for the establishment of perennial plantings. This land was classified as a restricted area in the community’s master plan. However, instead of planting, the lessee utilized the land for public purposes, constructing a café and unpermitted buildings.

The mayor of Meghri was obliged to ensure that the leased land was used for its intended purpose and to prevent unauthorized construction. Instead, he allegedly facilitated the transfer of this land to a person close to him, in a series of corrupt agreements with his deputy and the chief specialist of the urban planning, land use, agriculture, and property management department. On November 12, 2019, they allegedly created a forged certificate claiming that the agricultural land did not fall under the restrictions of the Armenian Land Code.

Based on this document, the community council amended its decisions on May 25, 2020, adding the land to the list of properties for alienation. An auction was subsequently held on June 24, 2020, leading to the winning bid being awarded to someone close to the mayor. A request for unified information about the land was made to the Cadastre Committee, which confirmed that the land was still subject to the restrictions of the Armenian Land Code.

To facilitate the alienation process, the mayor ordered resubmission for unified information to exclude the restriction mention, leading to the issuance of a new certificate that allowed the illegal change in ownership. Consequently, through a notarial sale agreement, the land was transferred and registered, despite its protected status under the law.

As a result of the actions taken by Mikayel Zakaryan, his deputy Armen Samvelyan, and the chief specialist Artavazd Arzumanyan, the community suffered significant damages, resulting in the illicit alienation of protected land and denying public benefit from its intended use.

Considering the collected evidence, the committee filed a request for criminal prosecution against Zakaryan on July 8, 2021, to the Prosecutor General. The request was subsequently approved. Charges were filed against Mikayel Zakaryan and Armen Samvelyan under parts 2 of Article 308 and part 1 of Article 314 of the Criminal Code, and against Arzumanyan under Parts 2 of Articles 38-308 and 1 of 38-314. Requests for their detention as a preventive measure have been made, with Zakaryan's detention being approved by the court. The others await a decision.

The preliminary investigation continues.