Arrests Made in Connection with Illegally Operated Mine Owned by MP Sergey Bagratyan's Wife

The police have arrested the director and employees of a company engaged in mining registered under the name of MP Sergey Bagratyan's wife. According to Hetq, on November 27, law enforcement officials transferred them from the site of the illegally operating mine to the investigative body. The operation of the sand mine has been halted.

The illegal extraction of sand by the MP's wife's company has caused significant damage to the state. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office in response to a query from Hetq. According to the prosecution, on March 13, 2023, 6,750 cubic meters of gravel material was excavated in the administrative territory of the Ranchpar settlement without the right to exploit natural resources, damaging a 2.4-hectare layer of soil and vegetation. A criminal case has been initiated on charges of illegal entrepreneurship, soil degradation, and violations of the rules for preserving and utilizing subsoil resources (three instances).

Furthermore, a criminal case has been opened regarding the substantial damages caused to the state due to the extraction and sale of gravel mixtures on a 64.3-hectare area in the village of Ranchpar by AraRak LLC on September 23, 2023,” officials from the Prosecutor General's public relations department stated.

The State Environmental Inspectorate also reported that on February 1, their employees uncovered cases of illegal sand extraction and water usage in the village of Ranchpar. The violator was subjected to administrative liability related to water usage, while evidence of illegal mining was forwarded to the Investigative Committee, where a criminal case has been initiated.

Additionally, on August 24, 2023, surveying works (geological measurements in quarries) were conducted in the mentioned location with the participation of officials from the State Revenue Committee. The results have been provided to the SRC for further actions,” said the inspection authority.

The Corruption Prevention Commission has also begun an investigation into the declarations of MP Sergey Bagratyan and his family members months ago. The findings of the investigation have not yet been concluded. The commission indicated that the fact of not declaring the shares owned by Sergey Bagratyan's wife in the mining company will also be investigated.

It should be noted that following our publication about illegal sand extraction, Sergey Bagratyan's wife, Naira Hakobyan, transferred her 100% share in AraRak LLC to another individual, Vrej Yeghoyan, who is one of Sergey Bagratyan's business partners.