Close to 1 Billion Dram in State Procurement from Company Accused of Embezzling 256 Million Dram

In 2023, state and municipal bodies procured approximately 1 billion dram from the company "Regionstroysurvice," whose owner and director is accused of embezzling a particularly large sum of money (256 million dram) through fraudulent means, as reported by "Hetq."

According to data from the public procurement system armeps.am, buyers from "Regionstroysurvice" LLC in 2023 have included the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the Yerevan Municipality, and the Masis Community Municipality. A total of five contracts have been signed with the company this year, three of which were awarded by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, while one each was awarded by the Yerevan Municipality and the Masis Municipality.

"Regionstroysurvice" LLC specializes in road marking works. On May 4, 2023, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure signed a contract worth 343 million dram with "Regionstroysurvice," which committed to perform road marking works on interstate roads connecting Yerevan-Gyumri-Georgian border and Yerevan-Yeghnasak-Iranian border for that amount.

Under another contract valued at approximately 160 million dram, "Regionstroysurvice" LLC is set to mark roads of interstate and republican significance in the Gegharkunik, Lori, and Tavush regions.

The third contract between the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and "Regionstroysurvice" was signed on April 26, 2023. For about 62 million dram, the company is obligated to undertake marking works on interstate and republican roads in Ararat and Armavir regions.

A contract between the Yerevan Municipality and "Regionstroysurvice" was signed on March 20, 2023. A total of 365 million dram from the municipal budget is to be transferred to the company for road markings in the capital.

A contract valued at 8 million dram between the Masis Municipality and "Regionstroysurvice" was signed on January 12. Therefore, during 2023 alone, "Regionstroysurvice" LLC has received public and municipal orders totaling 938 million dram.

Founded on December 24, 2020, this company has also signed contracts worth hundreds of millions of dram in 2021 and 2022, which "Hetq" had previously reported.

According to preliminary agreements, approximately 256 million dram was embezzled from the state together with others.

100% of the shares of "Regionstroysurvice" LLC are owned by Hakob Stepanyan, who has also held the director position at "Ukrinvest," a company engaged in road marking. This company has also been an active participant in state procurement.

In the summer of 2020, the Special Investigative Service reported that during 2018-2019, Hakob Stepanyan, the director of "Ukrinvest," and other closely related individuals organized and committed fraud, embezzling approximately 256 million dram through deceptive means and creating and utilizing fake documents.

In particular, while organizing the procurement process with the assistance of road police employees, anti-competitive conditions were created for other companies, which allowed "Ukrinvest" LLC to win bids. The pre-investigation of the criminal case was completed on April 8, 2021, and it was entered into court on April 14 of the same year.

Only Hakob Stepanyan and Constantine Kostanyan, the head of the Road Police Department, are in the status of defendants. During the pre-investigation, criminal prosecution against other defendants in the case was terminated due to lack of evidence. According to the State Revenue Committee, the operations of "Ukrinvest" LLC have been temporarily suspended. As for the legal case, it remains open two years after being filed and is currently in the trial phase.

Thus, against the backdrop of these events, when the director of a private company is accused of embezzling a particularly large sum of money from the state, various state and municipal bodies continue to delegate hundreds of millions of dram to another company founded by the same individual for services.