Former Police Officer Presented False Promises of Issuing Driver's Licenses for Bribes

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has revealed the circumstances surrounding a case of fraud involving the issuance of driver’s licenses under the guise of bribery following extensive investigative and procedural actions.

According to the Committee, based on factual data obtained during the investigation, a 54-year-old resident of Yerevan had organized a scheme to fraudulently obtain large sums of money from several citizens under the pretext of facilitating their acquisition of driver’s licenses.

The suspect, presenting himself as a former police officer with stable connections in the police force, made false promises to several citizens that he could arrange the process of obtaining driver’s licenses in exchange for bribes given to relevant officials through him.

To broaden the circle of applicants, the 54-year-old man met with two employees of a driving school and, concealing his genuine intent to commit fraud, informed them that he was a former police officer and could assist in this process through bribes, suggesting that if there were interested citizens, they should contact him and he would promise to secure the licenses in exchange for money. These employees facilitated an agreement between four citizens seeking driver’s licenses and the 54-year-old for bribery.

The investigation revealed that the man fraudulently obtained a total of 3,148,000 AMD from 25 citizens.
Additionally, upon learning that another resident of Yerevan wanted to find a job, he again posed as a police employee and assured the individual that he could help, subsequently obtaining 550,000 AMD from him in parts under the pretext of facilitating the job placement.

Based on the factual data obtained during the criminal proceedings, decisions were made not to pursue criminal charges against 23 citizens who attempted to offer bribes, due to their active remorse. Likewise, criminal proceedings were terminated against one accused on the same grounds, and a decision was made not to pursue criminal charges against 13 individuals due to the lack of constitutive elements in their actions.

With sufficient evidence gathered, the 54-year-old suspect has been charged under Article 255 (part 2, point 3, 2 episodes) and Article 46-44-436 (part 2, point 2, 2 episodes) of the Criminal Code of Armenia. The two employees were charged under Article 437 (part 1), and three citizens were charged under Article 34-312 (part 1) of the previous Criminal Code of Armenia. The investigation has been completed, and the materials of the case have been sent to the prosecuting authority for the approval of the indictment and forwarding to the court.