More than 10 Employees of the Enforcement Service Coerced Citizens into False Bankruptcy and Accepted Bribes: NSS

The National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia has confirmed through its investigative department that employees from the Enforcement Service of the Ministry of Justice coerced multiple citizens into false bankruptcy schemes while receiving bribes during 2020-2021. Evidence collected has shown that over ten debtors were pressured by enforcement agents to lift bank account restrictions placed on them, avoid collection of enforcement costs, or reduce these costs in exchange for varying sums as bribes.

Moreover, one of the enforcement agents, aware of the loan obligations of two citizens amounting to 6,000,000 AMD and 3,900,000 AMD at various banks and credit organizations, manipulated these citizens into filing false bankruptcy claims. This manipulation included urging them to present applications to the court for debt relief despite their lack of legitimate bankruptcy qualifications, thus misleading creditors and avoiding their debts.

This enforcement agent received a total of 500,000 AMD in bribes from one citizen between March and April 2021, while another citizen paid 350,000 AMD. As a result of these illicit activities, the debtors presented intentionally false information to the court, leading to approval of their bankruptcy requests, while creditors suffered significant financial losses exceeding a thousand times the minimum wage.

During the investigation, extensive actions were taken, including over ten searches, which led to the seizure of enforcement case files, providing clear evidence of the implication of enforcement agents in the criminal acts. In light of sufficient corroborating evidence, charges have been brought against ten individuals, and petitions have been filed to arrest three enforcement agents, which have been granted by the court.

At this stage of the investigation, the national security bodies continue to undertake active judicial and operational measures to uncover all potential episodes of corruption, ascertain the full circle of individuals involved, and prevent further manifestations of systemic corrupt practices by enforcement agents.