Criminal Charges Filed Against Former Deputy Chief of the General Staff

The former deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Haikaz Baghmanyan, is facing criminal charges. This information has been reported by the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia.

It has been noted that Baghmanyan concealed information about his assets and income in his declarations during his tenure. "In particular, in his 2018 declaration, he stated that there were no movable property registered in his name, that he had no monetary means, and reported an income of only 6.43 drams. However, as of December 5, 2017, he had registered vehicles in his name that included 'MERCEDES-BENZ S500L 4MATIC', 'MERCEDES-BENZ S450 4MATIC', and 'VAZ 21011', purchased for 102 million 665 thousand drams," the statement reads.

Additionally, as of the day of his dismissal, his bank accounts contained around 2 million 37 thousand 125 drams equivalent in various currencies. Subsequently, these accounts were augmented by approximately 174 million 358 thousand 867 drams in income.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, even after moving to the position of deputy chief of the unified staff of the CSTO in 2018, he submitted another incorrect declaration, while vehicles registered in his name included 'MERCEDES-BENZ S450 4MATIC' and 'VAZ 21011', with his bank accounts holding an amount approximately 14 million 904 thousand 669 drams (7 million 608 thousand 349 drams more than reported).

Throughout 2018, his bank accounts were replenished by around 28 million 747 thousand 168 drams, and in 2020, by approximately 20 million 579 thousand 945 drams, which did not include any funds received as salary from the CSTO. Baghmanyan also concealed the vehicles registered in his name.

"As of 2021, up to the day of his official duties cessation, his bank accounts were supplemented by about 196 million 330 thousand 475 drams in income, which also did not include funds received from the CSTO as remuneration for his work," the statement indicates.

By the decision of the Prosecutor, on March 6, 2023, a public criminal prosecution was initiated against Baghmanyan under Article 314.3, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, which came into force on August 1, 2003 (5 episodes), corresponding to Part 2 of Article 444 of the current Criminal Code of Armenia (concealment of reportable data leading to the non-declaration of property and particularly large amounts of income).

Various alternative measures of restraint have been applied against Baghmanyan, including a prohibition on leaving the country.