Bribery Case Involves 1 Million Dram Acceptance by Official of Armenia's Health and Labor Inspection Body

The Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has confirmed that the head of a division within the Health and Labor Inspection Body, identified as K. A., demanded and received a substantial bribe of 1,000,000 Armenian drams from the chief physician of a medical center in exchange for overlooking violations found during inspections.

According to a statement from the Investigative Committee of Armenia, employees under K. A.'s supervision conducted inspections at the aforementioned medical center from July 19 to August 7, 2023. K. A. informed the deputy director of the medical center about the identified violations. Subsequently, using his authoritative position and the influence that came with it, K. A. requested a large sum of money—1,000,000 Armenian drams—from the chief physician, via the deputy director, in exchange for not documenting the violations discovered during the inspection.

Accepting the bribe, the chief physician transferred the bribe amount to K. A. in installments through the deputy director on July 27 and 31, 2023. Following this, the inspection report prepared by K. A.'s division indicated that no violations were found in the medical assistance and service sector during the inspection.

K. A. has been charged under Article 435, Part 2, Clauses 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code of Armenia for receiving a large bribe. Initially, he was placed in custody, which was later replaced by house arrest. Decisions have been made to suspend criminal proceedings against the chief physician and the deputy director for offering the bribe based on the grounds of effective repentance.

The preliminary investigation has been concluded, and the materials of the case have been sent to court for substantive review.