Unjustified Salaries, Bonuses: Violations at Brusov University

Based on the directive of Romanos Petrosyan, the head of the RA State Control Service, the Department for Social Sector Control conducted a study at the "V. Brusov State University" Foundation. The focus of the study included high-value procurement, salary calculations, management of the Foundation’s and state-owned assets, as well as educational processes.

The study revealed that during the implementation of contracts worth around 498 million AMD signed between the Foundation and the Scientific Committee of the RA Ministry of Education and Science for the "Center for Prospective Studies and Initiatives" program, initiated in 2013, the leadership of the Foundation submitted applications containing false information each December from 2013 to 2019 to completely obtain the allocated funds for the current year. As a result, the Foundation received an additional 70 million AMD from the state budget, which was not accounted for by the Scientific Committee in future payments.

Furthermore, it was found that of the approximately 498 million AMD allocated for the mentioned program, around 174.3 million AMD was paid as salaries to T. T., a former president of the National Assembly of Armenia, as the scientific director of the program, and to L. H., as the program director.

The investigation also revealed that in 2012, the Foundation initiated and executed the lease of a 370 square meter area located at 42 Tumanyan Street in Yerevan to a private company for only 480,000 AMD per month over a period of 25 years. This resulted in a loss of an additional 37 million AMD in potential income to both the Foundation and the state. Moreover, it was found that according to the foundational documents and contract, the specified areas were supposed to serve students and citizens as places for acquiring new knowledge and for cultural development, such as a library-café, while they actually operated as nightclubs, law offices, and translation offices.

The team conducting the study discovered that between 2018 and 2022, the rector of the Foundation, K. H., unlawfully issued orders without the decisions of the Board of Trustees, violating labor legislation, and awarded himself a total of 5.44 million AMD in bonuses and salary increments, causing significant harm to the Foundation.

Additionally, it was established that during the same period, officials of the Foundation violated the requirements set by the RA government’s decision, resulting in 16 students receiving a total of 2.9 million AMD in unjustified or inaccurate documentation for discounts, as well as 41 students being charged an extra 4.3 million AMD in tuition fees.

Moreover, the study found that 9 students of the Foundation had been absent from the RA territory for an extended period; hence, they did not attend classes or participate in examinations, yet their absences were not recorded by the Foundation's staff, and despite being assigned false grades, they were promoted to the next academic year and subsequently received state diploma certificates with individual identifiers. Another 4 students had also been absent from the RA territory but submitted fake reports on practical training on behalf of themselves to the Foundation.

Furthermore, the conditions for organizing the educational process within the Foundation were examined, which revealed that the criteria set by the RA government's decision were violated, failing to provide the necessary areas for classroom capacities, preventing effective teaching.

The study uncovered that a holiday home owned by the Foundation located in Tsaghkadzor, Kotayk province, was leased under market value through a rental agreement with a private company for only 180,000 AMD per month over a 7-year term, generating only 56,400 AMD in income for the Foundation. Additionally, the efficiency of the dormitory located at 123 H. Emin St. in Yerevan was analyzed, showing that the Foundation spent around 125 million AMD for its maintenance from January 1, 2018, to June 30, 2022, yet only 31.4 million AMD was recorded as income from dormitory operations. As a result of this ineffective operation, the Foundation suffered a loss of about 93 million AMD.

The study also evidenced that the rector, K. H., signed off on payments for an associate who was abroad at the time of appointment, resulting in 690,000 AMD in salary being paid out for that individual. Furthermore, it was discovered that the officials of the Foundation violated procurement legislation by signing civil contracts worth 4.2 million AMD for services, without a competitive process, with A. A., the son of the chief of the financial department, and another individual.

Through the review of procurement procedures announced and conducted by the Foundation, it was found that there were several violations during three procurement processes, leading to an additional expenditure of about 12 million AMD from the Foundation’s financial resources, significantly harming the legal interests of the Foundation and the state.

At the same time, considering that violations with apparent signs of a criminal offense were recorded during the exercise of control functions, reports on the findings have been submitted to the RA Prosecutor General’s Office for follow-up actions.

The RA State Control Service persistently carries out its entrusted powers to reveal and prevent inefficient management of state resources as well as potential violations of RA legislation, ensuring the execution of the oversight powers of the RA Prime Minister.