Salaries Paid for 8 Years to 27 Non-Working Individuals: Details

The National Institute of Metrology has reportedly issued salaries for 27 individuals over a period of eight years, who did not actually attend work or perform any job responsibilities. The press service of the Republic of Armenia's Prosecutor General's Office has disclosed that former officials of the institute, in collusion with a group of individuals between 2010 and 2018, issued orders for these 27 employees, assigning them different positions.

Despite being aware that these individuals were not attending work and not fulfilling their job duties, the aforementioned officials prepared, approved, and validated records for working hours, as well as other documents serving as the basis for salary payments, incorporating manifestly false information regarding employees' attendance and the execution of their functional responsibilities.

As a result, a particularly large sum was withdrawn from the state budget. Criminal proceedings were initiated in 2020 for embezzlement or misappropriation, as well as for the forgery, distribution, or use of documents, stamps, and seals. On May 20, 2024, the former directors of the National Institute of Metrology, identified as Y.Ch. and V.S., reimbursed the state for damages amounting to 51 million 227 thousand drams.