Defense Army Commander Demands a Total of $3,500 in Bribes; Has Been Arrested

In a criminal case examined by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia, instances of a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Defense receiving large bribes have been uncovered. The investigation has gathered evidence indicating that V. A., the commander of the N military unit of the Ministry of Defense, utilized his official powers to receive substantial bribes through V. S. in exchange for taking actions favorable to bribing individuals.

Specifically, the investigation revealed that V. S., head of the relevant service in the N military unit, learned from T. Ch., the commander of a squad in the same unit, about T. Ch.'s desire for another appointment, and expressed his willingness to assist in facilitating a bribe of $1,500 to the unit commander. V. S. informed V. A., his close associate, who agreed to mediate T. Ch.'s promotion in exchange for the bribe.

According to a pre-agreed arrangement, T. Ch. transferred part of the bribe amount to V. S. on March 12, 2022, who then handed it over to V. A. Subsequently, on March 22, 2022, T. Ch. submitted a report to V. A. requesting to mediate with his superior for his appointment to a higher position within the relevant subdivision of the military unit. Following this, V. A. used his official powers to submit a recommendation to his superior for T. Ch.'s appointment as previously requested.

In addition, V. S. maintained a close relationship with H. A., the deputy commander of the same unit, and upon learning that the relevant commander was being transferred to another position, he offered to assist H. A. in bribing the superior official for the appointment as commander. Subsequently, V. S. communicated this to V. A., who agreed to mediate for H. A.'s promotion in exchange for a bribe of $2,000.

Between March and May 2022, H. A. transferred $1,500 from the agreed-upon bribe amount through V. S. to V. A. Consequently, V. A. utilized his official powers in favor of H. A. by approving H. A.'s service characteristics and submitted a recommendation on May 18 for H. A. to be appointed as the relevant commander, after which H. A. was appointed to the specified position.

For these criminal acts, charges have been brought against V. A. under article 435, part 2, point 2 of the RA Criminal Code /2 episodes/, against V. S. under article 38-312, part 2 of the former Criminal Code /2 episodes/, and against H. A. and T. Ch. under article 312, part 2 of the former Criminal Code. A preventive measure of detention has been applied to V. A.

The investigation of the criminal case has been completed. The materials of the case have been submitted to the supervising prosecutor with a request for confirmation and for forwarding to court.

Notice: The suspected or accused individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law as established by a legally binding judgment of the court.