Cases of Bribery Involving a Senior Official of the Ministry of Defense Uncovered

The Special Investigation Service of Armenia has revealed instances of bribery involving a senior official of the Ministry of Defense. According to the findings, V.A., while holding the position of commander of military unit N of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, exploited his official powers to act in favor of bribers and received a substantial bribe through V.S.

As reported by the Anti-Corruption Committee, the investigation found that V.S., the head of the relevant service of the military unit, upon learning from T.Ch., the commander of a platoon in the same unit, about the latter's desire to be appointed to another position, expressed his willingness to assist T.Ch. by facilitating a bribe equivalent to 1,500 USD (734,040 AMD) to the superior official.

V.S. informed his close associate, the commander of the military unit, V.A., who agreed to mediate for T.Ch. to be appointed to a higher position in lieu of the bribe. According to prior arrangements, on March 12, 2022, T.Ch. transferred the bribe of 1,500 USD to V.S., who then handed it over to V.A.

As a result, on March 22, 2022, T.Ch. submitted a report to V.A. requesting assistance in being appointed as the head of the relevant division of the military unit. Subsequently, V.A., using his official powers in favor of T.Ch. in exchange for the received bribe, submitted a request to his superior, leading to T.Ch.'s appointment to the specified position.

Furthermore, V.S., maintaining close relations with H.A., the deputy commander and head of staff of the same military unit, learned that the commander of the relevant battalion would be moving to another position. He proposed to assist H.A. by facilitating a bribe to the higher official for H.A.'s appointment to the commander's position.

V.S. communicated this to V.A., who accepted the bribe of 2,000 USD (906,520 AMD) in exchange for mediating H.A.’s promotion. Consequently, V.A. used his official powers to assist H.A. by approving H.A.’s service character and submitted a proposal on May 18 for H.A.’s appointment as the commander of the relevant battalion, which was subsequently granted.

On November 15, 2022, V.A., V.S., T.Ch., and H.A. were arrested. On the same day, charges were filed against V.A. under part 2, point 2 of Article 435 of the RA Criminal Code, against V.S. under part 2 of Article 38-312, and against H.A. and T.Ch. under part 2 of Article 312.

A motion has been filed by the investigative officer of the Anti-Corruption Committee to the General Jurisdiction Court of Yerevan to select detention as a preventive measure for V.A. and H.A. The investigation is ongoing.

Note: A defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law by a legally binding court decision.