Employee Accused of Embezzling Over 28 Million Dram from Secondary School Identified

The investigation into the embezzlement of over 28 million AMD from the resources of the Karchaghbyur village secondary school in Gegharkunik Province has concluded. The investigative department of the Gegharkunik Regional Investigative Committee, Vardenis division, determined that the individual responsible for managing the "A. Grigoryan Secondary School" state non-commercial organization during the years 2016-2019 had abused their authority.

This individual, tasked with verifying the authenticity of salary distribution documents before validating them, failed to adhere to legal protocols. They delegated their responsibilities to another person authorized to conduct financial operations at the school, providing their identification card and login credentials for the treasury system used for salary payments, citing ignorance of the rules as an excuse.

As a result, the appointed person misused their authority over the school’s budget, unlawfully withdrawing funds as salary payments, which were then transferred in portions to bank accounts of their spouse, acquaintances, and unidentified individuals in total of 28,526,400 AMD. This caused significant property damage to the state organization. During the investigation, 1 million AMD of the losses were restored.

Based on sufficient evidence, the former authorized individual of the school was charged under Article 308, Part 2 of the previous Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. The investigation on this matter concluded in August 2023, and the materials with the indictment were forwarded to court.

A new public criminal prosecution has been initiated against the employee authorized to manage the school budget under Article 256, Part 3, Clause 3 of the current Criminal Code. Following their attempt to evade investigation, the prosecution against them was suspended. However, on January 29, 2024, information was received from Interpol about their arrival in Armenia. The man was arrested and presented to the prosecuting authority. He acknowledged his guilt as the prosecution was resumed against him. A motion was submitted to the court to reconsider the pre-trial detention applied to him, which was partially granted; the court chose house arrest with a 3,500,000 AMD bail.

The investigation against the individual has also been completed, and the materials regarding their case have been sent to the supervisory prosecutor for approval and further submission to the court.

Notice: The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court’s decision rendered in accordance with the law.