Video: Criminal Group Commits Large-Scale Embezzlement in Kindergarten Food Supply Process, NSS Reports

The National Security Service of Armenia has reported that based on operational data received by its Yerevan city division, a criminal investigation was initiated by the Investigative Committee regarding a reported visible crime, supported by relevant evidence.

As a result of complex operational-investigative measures and procedural actions, it was revealed that a group acted in conspiracy to commit particularly large-scale fraud and to assist in the forging of legally significant documents provided by the local self-government body and a commercial organization.

It has been established that Y.A., the actual owner of the companies “Haykazunk” and “Photon,” which won tenders for public procurement of children's food supply in preschool institutions, along with P.M., who performed driver and delivery functions in these companies, acted with a unified intent to steal substantial amounts of money using fake documents.

The criminal group supplemented each other's actions by utilizing falsified documents with inflated data about the demand and supply of various types of food, which were not actually provided, including various officials from Yerevan’s kindergartens over the period from February to November 2023.

As part of the criminal proceedings, sufficient factual data has been obtained, leading to public criminal prosecutions against nine members of the criminal group under relevant articles of the Armenian Criminal Code.

Some members of the group provided confessionals regarding the mechanics of the theft, the roles of group members, and how the illegally obtained profits were distributed. Additionally, documents substantiating the circumstances of the theft and indicating the amount of illicit income distribution were presented.

Five members of the criminal group have been detained as a preventive measure. Meanwhile, searches were conducted at the residences of group members, as well as at related locations and workplaces across approximately forty addresses. Notebooks containing records related to the large-scale theft, documents, around 22 million AMD (equivalent to about 55,000 USD), gold jewelry, mobile phones, and computers were discovered.

About two dozen employees from various Yerevan kindergartens were also interrogated, some of whom provided confessions regarding the circumstances of the particularly large-scale theft and their involvement in the aforementioned crimes, as well as other circumstances of evidential significance.

The preliminary investigation is ongoing, with procedural actions and operational-investigative efforts being implemented to clarify the full circumstances of the incident, including the extent of the large-scale theft and the entire scope of individuals involved in the criminal group, to apply legal measures against them, as well as to ensure compensation for the damages caused by the alleged crime.