NSS Exposes Corruption Related Crimes in Shirak Region

Employees of the Regional Directorate of the National Security Service (NSS) in Shirak, in a persistent fight against corruption, have uncovered cases of official forgery and embezzlement amounting to over 41,800,000 AMD at the "Artik No. 1 Primary School" and the "Sambo-Judo Children's Sports School" in Gyumri, operating under the Shirak Regional Administration.

According to the findings, the director of the "Artik No. 1 Primary School" colluded with the school's accountant to embezzle large sums of money through a method of misappropriation. Between 2012 and 2019, they issued orders for nine individuals to hold various positions within the school without them attending work or fulfilling their duties. They then created, approved, and certified fictitious documents regarding working hours and other supporting documents for salary payments. As a result, an unjustified sum of 23,800,000 AMD was illegally withdrawn from the Shirak regional property fund on behalf of these individuals.

In a separate investigation, it was revealed that during the period from 2001 to 2019, individuals serving as directors of the "Sambo-Judo Children's Sports School" also worked with the organization’s accountant to carry out a similar scheme. They authorized ten individuals to work in various positions, and following the same pattern of non-attendance and non-fulfillment of duties, they produced fake documents to submit for salary payments. Consequently, 18,000,000 AMD was unjustifiably withdrawn from the Gyumri municipal property fund, which was also embezzled by members of a criminal group.

Criminal cases have been initiated at the NSS Investigation Department based on the characteristics of the offenses under Part 1 of Article 314 and Point 1 of Part 3 of Article 179 of the RA Criminal Code. Active procedural and operational measures are underway to fully uncover the corrupt mechanisms in these organizations and to recover damages caused to the state and community.

Notice: A suspect or accused individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia and a legally binding court verdict.