Former Tavush Governor to Return $1.5 Million to Armenia, Prosecutor's Office

The former governor of Tavush, Hovik Abovyan, and associated individuals will pay 608 million 634 thousand drams (approximately $1.5 million) to the Republic of Armenia. This information was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia.

As part of the unlawful property confiscation process, the Prosecutor General's Office has reached a settlement with Hovik Abovyan and related individuals, which will take effect on February 15, 2024. Consequently, they will pay 75.84% of the value of the lawsuit submitted to the court regarding the confiscation of illegally obtained property.

It is noteworthy that on July 31, 2021, the former governor of Tavush was involved as a defendant under Article 314.3, Part 2 of the former Criminal Code, which pertains to the commission of socially dangerous acts (submission of false data in declarations or concealment of reportable data, which resulted in non-declaration of property or income of particularly large amounts).

As a result of the investigation, a lawsuit for the confiscation of unlawfully obtained property was submitted to the Anti-Corruption Court on January 23, 2023. Hovik Abovyan was appointed as the governor of Tavush on May 15, 2014, and was relieved of his duties on June 1, 2018.