Public Criminal Prosecution Initiated Against Former Minister of Culture, He is on the Run

The Investigative Committee of Armenia's Department of Serious Crimes is continuing its investigation into the case involving the former Minister of Culture of Armenia, with the assistance of the director of the "Pyotr Tchaikovsky Secondary Music School" State Non-Commercial Organization, concerning embezzlement of a particularly large amount by the founders and the director of a limited liability company.

As previously reported, the investigation has obtained evidence indicating that the director of the limited liability company submitted an investment proposal to the Mayor of Yerevan just four days after the company's establishment, under the false pretext of using a 300 square meter plot of land at 36 Yezniki Koqbatsi, Yerevan for educational purposes, proposing to allocate the land for the construction of the "World of Books" multifunctional complex. In return, the company committed to not only constructing the mentioned complex but also to carry out improvements to the school’s conditions.

The former Minister of Culture, H.P., to whom the investment proposal was addressed for obtaining a conclusion, was aware of the company's intention to use the land for purposes other than educational and to build a multifunctional structure on it, but did not contest the investment proposal. The proposal was also approved by the director of the aforementioned music school, who is the brother of the company’s director.

On December 13, 2012, relevant contracts were signed between the former Minister of Culture and the company, which intentionally did not include the obligations established by the Government to construct the "World of Books" multifunctional complex worth 800 million drams. Thus, the former Minister of Culture eliminated obstacles and allowed the company to register ownership of a plot of land of 0.03 hectares from the aforementioned address, along with a 35.3 square meter boiler house and a 16.8 square meter uncertain-status structure, without fulfilling the stipulated obligations.

Subsequently, the former Minister of Culture submitted two projects to the Government, proposing changes to an existing decision. One was to carry out a capital renovation of the school building, knowing that it was being implemented under the program of the "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund. Another proposal suggested providing musical instruments to the mentioned music school instead of renovating the school gymnasium and other sections.

As a result, it was recorded that the company fulfilled its obligations established by the Government regarding the construction of the boiler house and the provision of musical instruments, under which a plot of land of 300 square meters and the area of the 35.3 square meter boiler house were fraudulently embezzled, resulting in substantial property damage to the state totaling 165,770,000 drams. Following the embezzlement of the mentioned real estate, a 17-storey building was constructed at that address.

Based on the initiated criminal prosecutions and the sufficient combination of evidence obtained during the investigation, charges have been brought against two founders of the company under Part 3 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, while the director of the "Pyotr Tchaikovsky Secondary Music School" has been charged under Part 3 of Article 46-255 of the Criminal Code of Armenia.

A decision has been made to initiate public criminal prosecution against the former Minister of Culture H.P. under Part 3 of Article 46-255 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. He is currently on the run, and imprisonment has been chosen as a preventive measure against him. Decisions have also been made to initiate public criminal prosecution against the director of the company and the owner of the share under Part 3 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. Necessary measures are being taken to ascertain their whereabouts.

During the investigation, a decision has been made to impose a prohibition on the aforementioned address where the company has registered ownership, specifically regarding the plot of land of 0.03 hectares and the building comprising a 17-storey structure, the legality of which was confirmed by a ruling of the anti-corruption court of Armenia.

Notice: The suspect or accused in the alleged crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia through a court ruling that has entered into legal force.