Cases of Illegal Alienation of Community Lands by Former Officials Revealed

The State Audit Office of the Republic of Armenia has reported the discovery of multiple instances in which former officials of the Yerevan Municipality unlawfully alienated community lands, according to ongoing monitoring activities.

Specifically, the findings include:

1. On November 15, 2010, Yerevan's former mayor issued a decree (No. 5306-A) that allowed a structure on David Bek Street, covering an area of 51.6 square meters (25.6 square meters of building and a 26 square meters cover), along with a designated land plot of 1997.28 square meters, to be sold directly to citizen L.M. for 15,387,150 AMD. After failing to make the payment within the stipulated 30-day period, the Mayor later amended this decision on July 29, 2011 (No. 3840-A) to extend the payment deadline by an additional 30 days, which L.M. also violated by only making the payment on the 78th day. Subsequently, a contract for the land sale was authorized based on the now-invalidated earlier decision.
2. On November 10, 2017, Yerevan's former mayor sold a land plot of 462 square meters on Halabyan Street to citizen A.S. for 7,611,912 AMD without granting construction rights. This transaction was illegal as it lacked the necessary foundation as established by the government, requiring that the land be sold through public auction. Furthermore, it was revealed that the price per square meter for this land was 16,500 AMD, whereas a neighboring plot of 237.99 square meters was sold by a private owner at 32,400 AMD per square meter during the same period. Notably, construction has since been carried out on this land, with a café now operating on the premises.
3. On January 22, 2018, another decision by the former mayor (No. 145-A) allowed the direct sale of a 54.0 square meter land plot on Abovyan Street to citizen L.E. for 2,106,000 AMD. This land was part of the common yard of a multi-apartment residential building and was subject to restrictions under Article 60, Section 1, Clause 6 of the Armenian Land Code. The sale was carried out despite the municipal authorities disregarding these legal restrictions. It was found that the price per square meter for this land was 39,000 AMD, while another adjacent plot was sold by a private owner for 230,700 AMD per square meter at the same time.

The audits at the Yerevan Municipality indicated serious violations of the Criminal Code of Armenia, resulting in significant harm to the rights of individuals and the legal interests of the state. Details regarding these cases have been forwarded to the Prosecutor General's office for further legal assessment and action.