Video: The Village Head of Garni Caused More Than 29 Million Dram Damage to the Community in 2007

The officers of the Kotayk Regional Department of the Police acted upon operational information together with their colleagues from the Kotayk division. According to the factual data obtained, the following took place.

By the decision of the government on July 27, 2006, a land plot belonging to 'Galaktika' LLC was granted free of charge to the Garni rural community, covering an area of 4,141 hectares.

After this transaction, a person representing a close relative of a high-ranking official, along with the Deputy Head of the Legislative Analysis and Development Department of the National Assembly Secretariat, visited the Garni Mayor's office and demanded the allocation of 1.5 hectares from this land plot.

To fulfill the order of the high-ranking individuals, the head of the Garni community, in the absence of legal grounds, drafted and signed a copy of a non-existent official document dated January 19, 2007. Subsequently, violating the requirements of the law on 'Public Auctions,' he confirmed the protocols on August 10 of the same year without organizing a public auction. On August 21, through contracts, the aforementioned individuals and an additional interconnected person were sold the 1.5-hectare land plot for only 315,000 drams, when its market value was 30 million drams.

In this manner, by misusing his official powers, the community leader caused particularly large material damage to the legal interests of the community.

The documents related to the purported crime have been sent to the Kotayk Regional Investigation Department. A criminal case has been initiated under Articles 445 and 283 of the Criminal Code.

Notice: The suspected or accused person is considered innocent until proven guilty by a court ruling that has entered into legal force in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.