National Security Service Arrests Former Senior Defense Official

The Investigative Department of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia has arrested former Major General Armen Harutyunyan, who was the head of the Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of Armenia, as part of a criminal investigation. The NSS reported this through its press service.

Extensive investigative and procedural actions revealed that Armen Harutyunyan, as the chairman of the acceptance commission for goods supplied under a contract between the Ministry of Defense and a company operating in Armenia, collaborated with the director and owner of the supplying company to accept goods that did not comply with the subject of the contract, with the direct intent to embezzle particularly large sums of money from the Ministry of Defense. Instead of supplying the agreed-upon caliber artillery ammunition, they deceitfully provided alternative types of artillery munitions produced in the Czech Republic, valued at 1,083,000 USD (523,089,000 AMD), which significantly lagged behind the expected tactical and technical characteristics.

These delivered munitions did not ensure the required range for hitting targets, and there were significant underperformance discrepancies during firing, which did not match the ballistic specifications of the artillery pieces available to the Ministry of Defense. Consequently, it was impossible to carry out targeted fire and solve combat tasks. This resulted in a substantial financial loss for the state.

It has also been established that the purchased munitions were used during the 44-day war, and their tactical and technical inferiority hindered the resolution of combat missions. In the same case, charges have also been brought against the director and owner of the supplying company. The investigation continues, with relevant investigative and other procedural actions being undertaken to clarify the full scope of individuals involved in the corruption scheme and to initiate criminal prosecutions against them.