10 Plots of Land with an Area of 28 Hectares Sold through Formal Auction to the Son of Aghvan Hovsepyan: The Criminal Case is in Court

The investigation into a criminal case regarding illegal involvement in entrepreneurial activities, receiving particularly large bribes, money laundering, and other abuses conducted by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has been completed.

The Prosecutor General's Office reports that based on a decision made by the investigator on December 6, Aghvan Hovsepyan has been formally charged under Article 178, Paragraph 3, Clause 1, Article 311, Paragraph 4, Clause 2, Article 310 (3 episodes), and Article 190, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 (five episodes) of the RA Criminal Code. Additionally, on December 10, 2021, Vrezh Markosyan was charged under Article 38-178, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 of the RA Criminal Code.

Considering the collected evidence sufficient for the drafting of the accusatory conclusion, the prosecuting authority announced the completion of the pre-trial investigation and handed over the materials of the criminal case for familiarization to the accused and their defenders. On December 13, 2021, the General Prosecutor's Office received the criminal case for verification, to ensure compliance with the legality of the pre-trial investigation, and the supervising prosecutor provided instructions to the investigator for necessary investigative and procedural actions to ensure the completeness, objectivity, and comprehensiveness of the case.

As a result of the execution of the instructions, new evidence was obtained during the further investigation, both corroborating the charges against Aghvan Hovsepyan and serving as a basis for changing the legal qualification of certain actions, as well as evidence of committing another act under Article 38-308, Paragraph 2 of the RA Criminal Code, which was not previously included in the accusation.

As a result of evaluating the evidence obtained in the case, on April 4, 2022, the investigator charged A. Hovsepyan with new offenses under Articles 310, 311, Paragraph 4, Clause 2, 38-308, Paragraph 2, 38-179, Paragraph 3, Clause 1, and Article 190, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 (2 episodes) and Article 190, Paragraph 2, Clause 1.

The charges against the other defendant, V. Markosyan, were modified and supplemented, and he was charged under Article 179, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 of the RA Criminal Code.

During the investigation, a freeze was placed on more than 60 properties including real estate and movable property, as well as financial means registered under the name of A. Hovsepyan and his connected individuals, such as his wife and sons. A freeze was also placed on the real estate and financial means worth 800,000,000 AMD of V. Markosyan.

The criminal case has been submitted to the General Prosecutor's Office with an accusatory conclusion. On April 15, 2022, the supervising prosecutor confirmed the accusatory conclusion, and the case was sent to the Court of First Instance of Yerevan for examination.

Furthermore, on April 1, 2022, a decision was made by the prosecuting authority against the former head of the Byurakan community in Aragatsotn Province, H. Avagyan, under Article 308, Paragraph 2 of the RA Criminal Code, as well as against community employees A. Sargsyan and A. Davtyan under Article 38-308, Paragraph 2 and Article 314, Paragraph 1, stating that no criminal proceedings would be initiated against them due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The decision established that 10 plots of land with a total area of 27.796 hectares belonging to the Byurakan community were sold through a formal auction on October 25, 2010, to N. Hovsepyan, son of former Prosecutor General and former head of the Investigative Committee A. Hovsepyan. Among other things, A. Hovsepyan has been engaged as a defendant under Article 38-308, Paragraph 2 of the RA Criminal Code regarding these plots of land.

Given that the mentioned plots of land belonging to the Byurakan community were sold in violation of the legally established procedure, A. Martirosyan, the head of the Department of Supervision over the Legality of Pre-Trial Proceedings at the Anti-Corruption Committee of the General Prosecutor's Office, sent a letter to T. Shahverdyan, the head of the consolidated community of Ashtarak in Aragatsotn Province, urging him to take the necessary legislative actions within his authority to return the aforementioned plots of land to the community.

Notice: A person suspected or accused of an alleged crime is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court of law in accordance with the procedural law of the Republic of Armenia.