Former Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasian Charged

The Shirak regional prosecutor's office has brought charges against former Gyumri mayor Vardan Ghukasian following an active investigation by the Shirak Regional Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee.

Evidence has been gathered, revealing that during his tenure as the head of the Gyumri community, Ghukasian, with the assistance of several officials from the Gyumri Municipality, allegedly forged official documents including municipal certificates and auction commission minutes. He personally participated in land auctions in violation of legal requirements, winning bids that resulted in the sale or auction of numerous plots belonging to state or community property, as prohibited by Article 60 of the RA Land Code. This occurred primarily between 2001 and 2011.

The properties in question relate to various areas, including sections of the Gyumri city park and plots adjacent to Furmanov, Rustaveli, Sayat Nova, Gharigin Nzhdeh streets, as well as several plots near Marmashen highway and others at addresses like 31 Tigran Mets and sites previously belonging to a military collective farm.

As a result, community or state property was sold illegally, either to Ghukasian personally or to other individuals, based on the forged documents presented to the local division of the RA Real Estate Cadastre Committee, which subsequently registered their ownership rights.

These criminal acts have caused significant damage to state and community interests, resulting in severe consequences due to negligence in some cases.

On August 10, 2021, with a sufficient combination of evidence, Ghukasian was charged under part 2 of article 308 (9 episodes), part 1 of article 308 (10 episodes), and part 1 of article 314 (19 episodes) of the RA Criminal Code. A preventive measure was chosen in the form of a signature not to leave the country. The pre-investigation continues.