Trial Begins in Case of David Tonoyan and Others, Indictment Published

The trial of former Minister of Defence David Tonoyan, former Chief of the General Staff Artak Davtyan, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff Stepan Galstyan, and others has commenced. This was reported by lawyer Sergey Hovhannisyan to "Factinfo." Yesterday, in the Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Judge Vahe Dolmazyan, a court session was held during which the prosecuting attorney continued to present the indictment.

All defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them. The lawyer informed that the court has established the sequence for examining evidence, beginning with written evidence, followed by witness testimonies, and concluding with the interrogation of the defendants. The next court session is scheduled for November 1.

It is noteworthy that the case originally fell under the jurisdiction of Yerevan's court of general jurisdiction, Judge Manvel Shahverdyan, but following legislative changes and the establishment of the new Anti-Corruption Court, the case was transferred to Judge Vahe Dolmazyan.

Recall that a criminal case was initiated in the National Security Service investigative department regarding alleged abuses in the procurement of military supplies, specifically concerning the acquisition of defective and inadequate missiles. Charges have been brought against seven individuals, including former Minister of Defence David Tonoyan, Chief of the General Staff Artak Davtyan, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff Stepan Galstyan, and businessman David Galstyan, known by the nickname "Patron Davo," who is involved in arms supply.

Specifically, preliminary investigation data suggest that senior officials of the RA Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence, abusing their official positions, obtained 4,232 units of expired and technically non-compliant military supplies from the company "Moston Engineering" in collusion with its owner, for the purpose of settling the company's obligations to the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Armenia.

According to the preliminary investigation body, the aforementioned individuals aligned the technical specifications of the contract to correspond to the type of products actually delivered to the Ministry of Defence's storage, indicating data in the contract that did not align with reality concerning the delivery of military supplies to the RA Ministry of Defence's N military unit's central warehouse.

Moreover, the mentioned military supplies were procured at a price nearly double that of previous purchases of the same batch, achieving a considerable theft amounting to 2,277,323,840 AMD, equivalent to 4,655,200 USD. Charges against David Tonoyan have been filed under Article 179, Part 3, Point 1 of the RA Criminal Code; Artak Davtyan under Article 375, Part 3; Stepan Galstyan under Article 375, Part 3 and Article 314, Part 1; Avetik Muradyan under Article 375, Part 3 and Article 314, Part 1; Vladimir Babayan under Article 375, Part 3 and Article 314, Part 1; Artyom Hambaryan under Article 375, Part 3 and Article 314, Part 1; and David Galstyan under Article 178, Part 3, Point 1 and Article 325, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code.