Former Aviation Official Caused State Damage Exceeding 274 Million Drams

The former high-ranking official of the Armenian Civil Aviation has caused approximately 274 million drams in damage to the state from 2004 to 2016 due to the abuse of official powers. Charges have been brought against this official and two other individuals, according to the press service of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

It has been revealed that the individual, aware in 2009 of the need to prepare 4-5 pilots annually based on state orders within the framework of the concept for the development of small aviation in Armenia, ignored the fact that the rental cost of an aircraft obviously exceeded the cost of purchasing the aircraft. Starting in 2012, he did not take steps to acquire an aircraft using state funds allocated to the Civil Aviation Committee.

Moreover, for the acquisition and rental of a "Diamond DA-40" series aircraft, he initiated negotiations with a company operating in Great Britain through a limited liability company registered in the name of his cousin, which he actually owns. The imported "Diamond DA-40" series aircraft did not meet technical specifications, but the official, abusing his position, instructed an employee of the company verbally to sign a rental agreement for the "Diamond DA-40 TDI" series aircraft at a rate of 218,900 drams per flight hour.

An official from the limited liability company prepared a false explanation for the comparison of the preliminary budget price and the market price, falsely claiming that the rent of 218,940 drams per flight hour complied with market prices. This was in a context where, between 2008 and 2011, the maximum cost for renting an aircraft per hour according to contracts with another company registered in the UAE was only 130,603 drams.

Subsequently, ignoring the fact that the "Diamond DA-40" series aircraft imported by the company did not meet technical requirements, in June 2013, on behalf of the company, he signed a rental agreement for the aircraft at the rate of 218,900 drams per flight hour, which was later revised and remained in effect until September 2018 with subsequent modifications. Furthermore, taking advantage of the opportunity provided, during the contract's validity period, without justification, the price per flight hour was artificially increased; from 2015 onwards, the cost became 257,580 drams, and from April to September 2018, it was increased to 240,000 drams.

Subsequently, in 2014, this official, aiming to increase the profits of his owned company, jointly approved a training plan with an employee of the company, which replaced 150 hours of training flights allocated for each student with 170 hours. At the same time, the number of free training places for the specialty of “Flight Operations” was increased from 5 to 7 annually, despite the fact that graduates of this center had no contracts to work for 5 years under the concept presented by the Armenian government due to the absence of a national air carrier.

Additionally, just months after leaving his position in June 2016, in December 2016, he facilitated the transfer of 99% ownership of the limited liability company to his mother.

According to the announcement, during 2013-2018, 274,189,598 drams were unjustly transferred from the allocated funds for aircraft rental to the limited liability company he actually owned. A criminal case has been initiated in connection with the fact. Charges have been brought against the official, his mother, and an employee of the company for the damage caused to the state due to the apparent abuse of official powers. The investigation is ongoing.