Martuni Military Police Chief Arrested on Bribery Charges

The Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia reports that as a result of measures taken by the operational-investigation department, factual data has been acquired regarding the Chief of the Martuni Military Police Territorial Division, E.A., who allegedly received a substantial bribe of 570,000 AMD to carry out an illegal act benefiting a person indicated by the bribe giver.

Specifically, it has been established that the father of a conscript soldier of the Armenian Ministry of Defense's military unit N sought the assistance of G.G., the warehouse chief of the Monte Melkonyan Military Sports School Foundation, to bribe a public official to avoid registering and processing the discovery of a prohibited item found near the soldier. G.G., intending to facilitate the bribery, contacted his acquaintance, E.A., who accepted the bribe offer.

Subsequently, E.A., using his official and authoritative powers, failed to register and process the aforementioned incident of discovering the prohibited item, receiving the bribe of 570,000 AMD via bank transfer from the soldier's father on September 12, 2023, assisted by G.G.

It is noteworthy that during searches conducted during the preliminary investigation, unaccounted-for ammunition was discovered in the offices of officials from the police department.

On October 26, 2023, E.A., the father S.H. who gave him the bribe, and G.G. who assisted him were arrested. E.A. has been charged under Article 435, Part 2, Clauses 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code of Armenia, while G.G. is charged under Article 46-436, Part 2, Clauses 2 and 3. The investigator from the Anti-Corruption Committee has submitted a motion to the court for the selection of pre-trial detention as a measure of restraint against E.A., which the court has approved. The investigation continues.

Note: A person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court verdict that has entered into legal force in accordance with the established procedures of the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia.