Prosecutors Do Not Confirm Indictment in Aram Harutyunyan Case

The Prosecutor's Office has not confirmed the indictment in the criminal case against former Minister of Environment Aram Harutyunyan and has sent the case back to the Anti-Corruption Committee for additional investigation. This information was provided to "Factinfo" by the Armenian General Prosecutor's Office.

It should be noted that this is already the third case in recent times where the Prosecutor’s Office has openly expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of investigations conducted by the Anti-Corruption Committee and has sent cases back for further scrutiny. Previously, the Prosecutor's Office had returned a criminal case against former Chief Prosecutor of Armenia and former head of the Investigative Committee, Aghvan Hovsepyan, for additional investigation. Recently, it became known that the Prosecutor’s Office also did not confirm the indictment in the case of former police chief Vladimir Gasparyan and sent it back to the Anti-Corruption Committee for further investigation.

According to the Anti-Corruption Committee, Aram Harutyunyan held the position of Minister of Environment from June 8, 2007, and while serving as the head of the interagency competitive commission for the formation of mineral rights for subsoil areas containing strategically significant natural resources, he required and received a particularly large bribe equivalent to more than 4 billion drams or 14 million dollars from businessman Silva Hambardzumyan for granting 10 special licenses for mining explorations, extending the investigation period, and resolving issues in favor of the businessman regarding obtaining permission for the exploitation of the mines.