NSS Announces Results on Criminal Proceedings and Economic Violations

In 2022, as part of its legally mandated functions, the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia transferred 1,862 materials to various state authorities, which led to the initiation of 470 criminal cases. This information was reported by the NSS.

Regarding violations in the economic sector, 249 materials were sent to the relevant state authorities, some of which are still under investigation. Of these, 117 relate to abuse of official positions and embezzlements, 92 to various violations of economic activities, including smuggling or false invoices, as well as tax evasion, 30 involve illegal salary payments to individuals not actually working, and 10 concern illegal compensations.

In the area of illegal trafficking of drugs and psychoactive substances, 84 materials were sent to the relevant authorities, with some still under investigation. Among these, 45 relate to drug trafficking or sales, and 39 involve illegal use of drugs or psychoactive substances.

During the reporting year, the NSS investigative department had 1,105 criminal cases, of which 443 were initiated by the department's investigators. Additionally, 42 cases were separated from other investigations, 268 were received from other agencies, 278 cases were reopened, 5 were initiated by the prosecutor servicing the area, and 1 case was returned for further investigation. Notably, 68 criminal cases were transferred from 2021 to 2022.

During the reporting period, 79 criminal cases from the investigative department were sent to court involving 116 individuals, while 129 cases involving 10 individuals were closed. Also, 54 criminal cases were suspended, and 435 criminal cases concerning 105 individuals were sent according to investigative jurisdiction. Moreover, 116 cases were combined with other cases pending in the Investigative Committee, while the preliminary investigation of 292 criminal cases is ongoing.

During the defined timeframe, the overall damage caused by the assessed criminal cases in the NSS Investigative Department, including those carried over from prior years, was preliminarily estimated at 34,871,179,017 Armenian Drams. Of this amount, the damage caused to the state was assessed at 32,144,587,787 Drams, while legal entities faced losses amounting to 704,639,069 Drams, and physical persons incurred losses of 2,021,952,161 Drams.

Furthermore, from the aforementioned, including cases that have completed investigations, a total of 14,351,883,303 Drams have been recovered during the preliminary investigation phase, out of which 5,278,456,073 Drams were recovered in 2022 alone. This included 5,007,884,856 Drams of state damages and 270,571,217 Drams concerning legal entities.