Three Police Inspectors Received Bribes from 50 Drivers for Not Issuing Citations

Fifty drivers, who lacked driver's licenses, were driving with suspended licenses, had no insurance contracts, and committed other violations, were not fined by traffic police inspectors in exchange for bribes. This information has been reported by the Anti-Corruption Committee.

“Based on data received from the Internal Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a large-scale investigation and procedural actions initiated by the Anti-Corruption Committee have uncovered numerous instances of bribes being accepted by three inspectors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Road Police from drivers who committed various traffic violations,” the committee stated.

During the investigation, evidence was gathered proving that Senior Inspector K. M. and inspectors A. A. and K. A. demanded and received bribes ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 Armenian drams from 50 drivers who violated traffic rules while performing their duties from December 8 to 21, 2022, in the Kotayk province.

Specifically, the aforementioned drivers were found to be driving without seatbelts, using driver's licenses from other countries, or exceeding the maximum speed limits set for the area. In several instances, they lacked insurance contracts or operated vehicles that had not undergone technical inspections. Some drivers were also found to be driving under the conditions of expired licenses or being deprived of their driving rights.

Charges were filed against K. H. under Article 435, Part 2, Points 1 and 3 of the Criminal Code of Armenia for 50 instances, while K. A. and A. A. were charged with similar offenses related to 31 and 19 instances, respectively. All three traffic police inspectors are currently under detention, which has later been replaced with house arrest. Two of the inspectors have acknowledged their guilt regarding the charges and provided confessions.

The investigation in the criminal case has been completed. The materials of the case have been sent to the supervising prosecutor with a request for approval and forwarding to the court,” the statement noted.