Senior Officials Embezzled Funds from the State Based on Preliminary Agreements: Remarkable Revelation by the NSS

The National Security Service (NSS) has reported significant findings based on materials prepared by its Tavush regional department, indicating that a group of high-ranking officials from various state agencies of the Republic of Armenia, during the period from 2011 to 2017, engaged in substantial misappropriation of funds through prior agreements. This negligence in their official duties resulted in serious consequences.

According to the NSS, in line with a program aimed at ensuring comprehensive management of national security and state borders from 2011 to 2015, a total of 2,649,209,000 AMD was transferred to the Tavush Regional Administration for compensating property owners for the expropriation of real estate necessary for the construction of Armenia's “Bagratashen” border checkpoint.

Under the pretext of implementing this program, an agreement was signed on December 26, 2011, through the Tavush Regional Administration to facilitate actions within the authority of high-ranking officials, notably involving H.A. This agreement entailed the sale of land containing a hotel, pumping station, and public facilities in the Bagratashen community by H.A. for 206,137,500 AMD to the Republic of Armenia, represented by the State Revenue Committee. However, the former owner continued to retain actual possession and use of the said property, which did not serve the intended purpose defined by the government, thereby causing a significant waste of specially allocated substantial sums of state money by the involved senior officials.

Moreover, the same officials failed to take steps to utilize the acquired land and buildings in accordance with their intended purpose, and H.A. unlawfully operated the state-owned hotel complex and land under the name of an associated sole proprietorship until May 2017, leasing it out to various organizations and individuals, and earning particularly large revenues. As a result, significant damage was inflicted on the legitimate interests of the state, which was deprived of its rights to possess and use publicly-owned real estate for planned purposes and benefit materially, leading to serious unintended consequences.

A criminal case has been initiated in the Investigative Department of the NSS based on the characteristics of Article 179, Part 3, Clause 1, and Article 308, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.