Prosecutor's Office Initiates New Public Criminal Prosecution Against Mihran Poghosyan

The Prosecutor's Office has initiated a new public criminal prosecution against former Chief Enforcement Officer M.P. on August 23, 2023. This was reported by the Armenian Prosecutor's Office.

M.P. is accused of legalizing particularly large amounts of property obtained through criminal means (money laundering), stealing particularly large amounts of entrusted property (in five instances), committing significant waste by abusing official position, abusing official authority (in two instances), and exceeding official powers.

Specifically, from June 11, 2008, while holding the position of Chief Enforcement Officer, M.P. appointed his bodyguard E.S. on September 12, 2008, as a first-class advisor in the operational department of the Judicial Acts Enforcement Service, but tasked E.S. with ensuring his personal safety. As a result, E.S. received a salary of 22,117,820 AMD without performing the duties of his position from 2008 to 2016.

In another case, M.P. appointed his personal driver H.B. on November 3, 2009, as a leading advisor in the operational department of the Service but similarly assigned H.B. the duty of providing personal security. He received a salary of 21,754,643 AMD without fulfilling the responsibilities of that role from 2009 to 2016.

Additionally, M.P. appointed his cousin T.H. to various positions in the service from March 2, 2009, to December 16, 2010. T.H., being a relative of the Chief Enforcement Officer, enjoyed a privileged status, did not attend work, and was paid 2,470,827 AMD in salary without performing his duties.

Furthermore, M.P. knowing that A.H. would actually perform the duties of the driver for H.T., the Minister of Justice, offered A.H. a position in the Service to obtain a higher salary, a special title, and to acquire weapons. On April 22, 2011, January 15, 2012, and January 8, 2013, contracts were signed with A.H. for employment as a security employee of the Service. Later, M.P. appointed A.H. as a first-class advisor in the department of information technology implementation and system automation on April 17, 2013, and issued orders that involved moving A.H. to various positions without him actually attending work, resulting in A.H. receiving 5,712,550 AMD without performing his duties.

M.P. also appointed G.H., another cousin, to various roles within the Service under similar circumstances, resulting in G.H. receiving 10,454,655 AMD while not fulfilling his obligations.

Additionally, between 2013 and the first quarter of 2016, M.P. misappropriated funds intended for four vehicles allocated for his security detail, stealing 40,746,500 AMD from the state budget and from the fund managed by the Chief Enforcement Officer.

During his tenure as Chief Enforcement Officer, M.P. allegedly engaged in entrepreneurial activities through entities such as “Catherine Group,” “Best Realty,” “Kecharis Hotel,” and “Fruitimex” that involved illegal favors and privileges. He also concealed the origins of 1,190,000 USD obtained through these companies' tax evasions, presenting it as a loan transfer.

Investigation revealed that in 2015, M.P. unlawfully established a payment system for recovering outstanding debts without any legal basis. As a consequence, from August 1, 2015, to July 1, 2020, his relatives collected approximately 84,343,680 AMD as unauthorized fees under the guise of a “service fee.”

Based on these findings, the supervising prosecutor on August 23, 2023, initiated a new public criminal prosecution against M.P. under Article 256 (3)(3) of the Criminal Code (theft of large entrusted property – five instances), Article 179 (2)(1)(3) (embezzlement by abusing position), Article 308 (2) (abuse of office causing severe consequences – two instances), Article 309 (3) (exceeding powers causing severe consequences), and Article 190 (3)(1) (legalizing criminally obtained large amounts of money).