The Land Auctioned in Tsaghkadzor Will Be Returned to the State

In connection with the criminal case initiated based on the September 28, 2018 publication titled "Officials Have Privatized 60 Hectares of Forest in Tsaghkadzor" by the electronic newspaper Hetq, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia has identified violations of state interests. As a result, lawsuits for the protection of state interests were filed against the Kotayk Regional Administration and others between 2019-2020, challenging the auctions held in 2007 for 25 plots of land located outside the administrative boundaries of the communities in the Kotayk region and demanding the application of consequences.

According to the ruling made by the first instance court of general jurisdiction in the Kotayk region, the lawsuit presented by the Office of the Prosecutor General against the Kotayk Regional Administration was upheld regarding one of the plots of land acquired through an auction conducted in violation of legislation by individual Z. G. Specifically, the court's decision annulled the auction of that plot held on May 26, 2007, and as a consequence, also invalidated the sales contract concluded between the Kotayk regional governor and the mentioned individual on May 31, 2007, as well as the state registration of the individual's ownership rights over the 0.55-hectare plot.

The court also ordered the citizen to return the given plot of land to the Republic of Armenia, while obliging the Kotayk Regional Administration to return the sum of 3,435,500 AMD, which was the price of the invalidated sales contract for the plot.

This court decision is of significant importance for annulling other land auctions conducted in Tsaghkadzor following a similar scheme and for restoring the violated property rights of the state through the legal process initiated by the Prosecutor's Office. Currently, there are still 24 plots of land undergoing judicial proceedings awaiting the annulment of their auctions and the application of consequences, with further updates to be provided to the public regarding the outcomes of these inquiries.