5500 Dollars Stolen from Yerevan Resident Through Fraud, Abduction and Illegal Deprivation of Liberty

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has revealed significant circumstances related to the fraudulent theft of a large sum of money from an individual, his abduction, illegal deprivation of liberty, and extortion in the Shengavit administrative district.

According to the Investigative Committee, on April 29, 2023, a report was received by the Shengavit Investigative Division regarding several crimes committed against a resident of Yerevan and his father.

A criminal case was initiated under Article 191 (parts 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8), Article 255 (part 2, point 3), Article 192 (part 2, points 5, 8, and 9), and Article 258 (part 2, points 1 and 8) of the Republic of Armenia's Criminal Code. A decision was made to establish an investigative group, and the young man who filed the report and his father were recognized as victims.

Extensive procedural and evidential actions have been carried out to clarify the circumstances of the incident. Simultaneously, the personnel of the Shengavit division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been instructed to implement large-scale operational and investigative measures to identify the individuals who committed the alleged crime and to present them to the prosecuting body.

As part of the proceedings, recordings from the external and internal surveillance cameras of a supermarket related to the case have been seized and examined, and expert assessments have been appointed. Following systematic actions, factual data was obtained indicating that the young victim, on April 27, 2023, had called a phone number mentioned in a social media announcement posted on Facebook with the intention of converting his own 5500 USD to cash at a high exchange rate.

According to the agreement reached with the individual he spoke to on the phone, the young man met someone near a supermarket on Bagratunyats Street in Yerevan at around 12:00 PM that same day and handed the money over to that individual. The latter then entered the adjacent supermarket alone, transferred the money to an unidentified person, and returned to inform that the money had been given to another individual.

After the young man requested the return of the money he had given, a dispute arose between them inside the vehicle, prompting the driver to call others to the scene. The newcomers began to argue with the young man, attacking him with strikes to various parts of his body through the car window and inside the vehicle. Subsequently, against the will of the victim, they abducted him and transported him to a garage located in the 16th district of Yerevan.

The victim's father, noticing that his son was being taken away, voluntarily followed them to the same location. There, the individuals present took their phones, confined them in the garage, and forbade them from leaving, thereby unlawfully depriving them of their liberty.

Continuing their criminal activities, the group, by prior agreement, accused the abducted young man of unjustly demanding 5500 USD from the driver of the Toyota and accused him of fraud, demanding 20,000 USD under the condition of releasing the abducted young man and his father while also resorting to violence, beating them, and threatening to commit violence against their relatives. However, after negotiations, an agreement was made for their release for a payment of approximately 1,000,000 AMD, and around 6 PM that same day, after receiving the specified amount, these individuals released the victims.

The investigation has identified five individuals involved in the alleged criminal acts. Public criminal prosecution has been initiated against them, with charges presented against three of them for the aforementioned crimes. By court decision, preventive measures have been applied to three of these individuals, with two having been arrested and transferred to a correctional institution. The police have been instructed to locate the third individual and present him forcibly to the prosecuting authority. A travel ban has been applied to one defendant.

The investigation is ongoing. Necessary measures are being taken to clarify all circumstances of the case, the role of each participant, and to assess their actions legally, while efforts are also being made to identify the person to whom the 5500 USD was transferred in the supermarket.

During the investigation, data was also obtained indicating that during the dispute over returning the money inside the vehicle, the young victim threatened the accused driver of the Toyota with a firearm, stating that he would take the vehicle if the money was not returned. A criminal case has also been initiated regarding this episode concerning illegal possession of firearms and threats of violence.