Numerous Abuses in Ptghni: Criminal Cases Initiated, Prosecutor's Office of Armenia

From 2018 to 2021, during the period of legal and professional supervision over the implementation of local self-government powers by the Kotayk Regional Administration, irrefutable evidence has been gathered regarding various apparent corruption abuses committed by public officials in the Ptghni community of Kotayk province. These findings are linked to the results of an inquiry initiated at the direction of the regional prosecutor's office, which involved the preparation of materials by the police.

Specifically, it has been discovered that concerning one of the criminal cases, the “Transgaz” LLC, operating under the “Gazprom Armenia” closed joint-stock company, was involved in violations in the exclusion zones of the underground gas storage facility in Abovyan, located within the administrative territory of the Ptghni community. Based on the decisions made by the Armenian government on May 26, 1998, land usage for construction purposes has been prohibited in certain areas of this territory. However, the community leader, A. V., disregarding the requirements of Article 60 of the Land Code of Armenia, issued written confirmations of the absence of limitations on these lands to 15 citizens during his term, which led to the construction of buildings within the security zones of the underground gas wells and high-pressure gas pipelines, allowing for the privatization of these unauthorized constructions and territories.

Additionally, another criminal case revealed that A. V. had sold a 1.443 hectare plot of community land at an auction, despite this area being classified under Article 60 of the Land Code as non-transferable to citizens and legal entities. Moreover, during his tenure as community mayor in February 2012, the community council changed the designated purpose of this water plot, bypassing the legally prescribed procedures, reclassifying it as land for public development.

In another case, from 2013 to 2016, ten plots designated for agricultural or habitation purposes were sold through auction, with some sizes not conforming to the requirements established by the Armenian government’s decision No. 286 from April 12, 2001. In several instances, the architectural task was missing from the auction package, and the announcements for organizing auctions lacked the legally required information regarding the auction process and other conditions. Some of the auctioned lands were sold to the mayor's sons.

It has also been determined that signatures against certain individuals in the auction bids registration journal were forged. Investigations regarding participants who submitted bids alongside the mayor's sons revealed that some of them were outside the country on the day of submitting their applications. The auctions were conducted by the deputy mayor.

In the framework of another criminal case, it was established that A. V. provided his son with an expensive mobile phone, bought with community funds for official purposes in October 2015, thereby misusing community property. Later, to conceal the theft, he falsified an act of write-off for the basic means of the community office, declaring the phone as unsuitable for further use and non-repairable, thus committing official forgery.

A. V. has been charged under Article 179, part 2, point 1, and Article 314, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. He has acknowledged his guilt in the charges brought against him, and the prosecutor's office has sent his criminal case to court, with the judicial process currently in its preliminary stages.

The preliminary investigation into the aforementioned other criminal cases is ongoing, with measures being taken to fully uncover the alleged corrupt practices, assess the actions of those responsible legally, quantify the damages caused to the community, and recover the losses.

Notice: The suspected individual in the alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia through a legally effective court verdict.