Judge Arrested for Accepting $150,000 Bribe, NGO Reports

The judge of the Armenian bankruptcy court has been arrested for accepting a $150,000 bribe. This information has been reported by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia.

During the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the judge, through a decision made in a bankruptcy case, declared a company bankrupt. Following this decision, a process was organized to sell the bankrupt company's assets through a public auction. In March 2022, a company was declared the winner of the auction, but it failed to make the necessary payments within the stipulated time frame.

To restore the missed deadline, make the required payments, and register the ownership of the assets in the company's name, representatives of the bankrupt company approached the bankruptcy manager assigned to the case.

On November 10, 2023, the bankruptcy manager met with the judge at one of the cafes in Yerevan and proposed that, in exchange for a bribe, the winning company be given the opportunity to restore the missed deadline and make the payments, after which ownership rights to the assets could be registered.

For carrying out this transaction, the judge initially demanded a bribe of $20,000 for the preliminary phase and $150,000 to bring the case to completion. The parties agreed to pay this amount in installments.

On December 14, 2023, the Prosecutor General of Armenia submitted a request to the Supreme Judicial Council to initiate public criminal prosecution against the judge and to grant permission to deprive the judge of his freedom. On the same day, charges were filed against the judge and the bankruptcy manager who assisted him under several articles of the Armenian Criminal Code. Charges were also brought against the company's shareholders and the individual they represented for offering a particularly large bribe.

As a preventive measure, arrest was chosen for the judge and the bankruptcy manager. The materials of the case have been sent to court for substantive examination.