Investigator Demanded Money from Citizen's Wife to Avoid Husband's Arrest

The preliminary investigation carried out by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has established that V. A., occupying the position of investigator in the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, demanded a particularly large bribe from the accused spouses A. J. and A. H., who are charged with embezzling 78,000 USD, in order to facilitate the cessation of criminal prosecution against them and the termination of criminal proceedings through competent officials.

As part of the criminal agreement, from June to August 2022, A. J. and A. H., both personally and through their mutual acquaintance G. M., gave V. A. a total of 27,800 USD and 1,840,000 AMD in bribes, equivalent to 11,305,982 AMD in installments.

Additionally, the investigation revealed that V. A. used his authority and connections derived from his position to secure non-arrest of A. H. in connection with a fatal traffic incident involving A. H. driving a vehicle. He demanded a 15,000 USD bribe from A. J., A. H.'s wife, to avoid her husband's arrest. A. J. negotiated the amount and reached an agreement with V. A. to pay 10,000 USD. Subsequently, on July 23, 2022, the investigator received the agreed bribe.

Furthermore, in order to 'manipulate' the testimonies of A. J. and A. H. within the mentioned criminal proceeding, V. A. demanded and received another 1,000 USD bribe from them.

The investigation also confirmed that in August 2022, with the intent to fraudulently embezzle a large amount from K. Kh., V. A. met with K. Kh. and assured him that he could use his official powers to assist in exempting K. Kh.'s grandson from mandatory military service in exchange for a bribe. Accepting the offer, K. Kh. agreed and, through G. M., gave 5,000 USD to the investigator, which V. A. fraudulently embezzled.

Thus, V. A. received a total of approximately 40,000 USD in bribes from the aforementioned individuals and fraudulently embezzled 5,000 USD. On May 29, 2023, charges were filed against V. A. under Parts 2 and 3 of Article 435, Part 2 of Article 436, and Parts 2 and 3 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. He has been remanded in custody.

A. J. has been charged under Part 2 of Article 436, A. H. under Part 2 of Article 436, K. Kh. under Part 2 of Article 44-436, and G. M. under Part 1 of Article 437 and Part 1 of Article 44-437.

The preliminary investigation for the criminal case has concluded. The materials of the case have been sent to the supervising prosecutor with a request for approval and forwarding to the court.