Woman Reaches Out to Vardan Ghukasyan, Finds 'Trustworthy' Lawyer Who Steals Over 5 Million Drams from Her

A series of investigative and procedural extensive actions conducted by the Investigative Committee of Armenia in the Yerevan department revealed multiple circumstances surrounding the embezzlement of a significant amount of money by a 43-year-old resident of Yerevan, S.S., a member of the Bar Association, who posed as a lawyer. According to factual data obtained during the investigation, the citizen, after a divorce, sought legal assistance regarding the custody of her underage daughter and her right to have her live with her.

On April 6, 2021, she sent a message via the social network Facebook to the well-known user “Vardan Ghukasyan,” asking for help in finding a reliable lawyer. Vardan Ghukasyan directed her to contact Artak Galstyan, the president of the “Public Voice” party, providing her with his mobile number. The woman relayed this contact information to her parents, who, after a phone call about two weeks later, met with him. Galstyan introduced her parents to S.S., the founder and director of a company, who is also a member of the Bar Association.

This group made false promises about resolving her issue quickly and guaranteed the return of the minor child to Armenia. They requested 4,700,000 AMD, equivalent to 9,000 USD, for their services, a contract was signed between the lawyer and the citizen's father. Subsequently, under the presence and urging of Artak Galstyan, the parents handed 2,597,150 AMD, equivalent to 5,000 USD, in cash to the 43-year-old woman.

After receiving the money, S.S. led the citizen to believe that she was addressing the issues concerning her daughter and had contacted the appropriate authorities. On September 13, 2021, when summoned for questioning by the investigative body, the citizen informed her lawyer about this, who then demanded 1,000 USD, equivalent to 491,880 AMD, which she provided in cash that same day.

Later, the citizen discovered that her daughter had been taken out of Armenia to Georgia on September 23, 2021, and then to Sharjah, UAE, from where she moved to Dubai, as informed to S.S. The lawyer allegedly sent messages through WhatsApp, misleading her to believe that individuals at a sheikh's level could find the child and arrange her return, for which another 2,000,000 AMD was demanded. Some time later, the lawyer informed her that they needed to travel to Dubai; however, their partners advised waiting until after the holidays in January 2023, insisting that 2,000,000 AMD should be sent to their partners beforehand.

Desperate, the citizen agreed to the offer and, in December 2022, wired the aforementioned amount to the lawyer on different days. The lawyer subsequently demanded an additional 2,500 USD for plane tickets, hotel accommodations, and visas, which she also paid.

Afterward, on March 10, 2023, the lawyer traveled with the citizen to Dubai, continuing to assure her that individuals were working on her daughter's case and that she was in Dubai. However, the woman later learned that her daughter had traveled from Dubai to Turkey back in May 2022. On March 14, they returned to Armenia without resolving the obligation of returning the minor child to her mother.

Through these actions, the lawyer, in conjunction with others, fraudulently embezzled a total of 5,122,150 AMD from the citizen, causing substantial financial harm. Based on sufficient evidence obtained, public criminal proceedings were initiated against the lawyer, and she has been charged under the third part, item three of Article 255 of the Armenian Criminal Code, corresponding to the first item of the third part of Article 178 of the former Armenian Criminal Code. She has been arrested and a petition was submitted to court for selecting pre-trial detention as a measure of restraint. The pre-investigation continues.

Notice: An accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court judgment that has entered into legal force as prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.