From Hero Title to Detention: What Ruling Will the Court Make in Andranik Piloyan's Case?

According to the newspaper ‘Zhoghovurd’, on October 20, 2020, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that Major General Andranik Piloyan, commander of the 5th Army Corps of the Armenian Armed Forces, would be awarded the title of National Hero. However, two years later, Piloyan was arrested.

The criminal case against Piloyan is at the final stage in the Anti-Corruption Court, where the parties are presenting their defenses, and a decision will be made soon. It is difficult to predict Piloyan’s fate, who was appointed by Nikol Pashinyan’s cabinet and honored with the title of hero.

It is noteworthy that according to the charges, Andranik Piloyan, his advisor, and more than ten employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, including heads of various departments, are accused of receiving significant bribes, facilitating bribe-taking, abusing their official positions, committing large-scale embezzlement through fraudulent means, and receiving significant and particularly large illicit compensations, among other abuses.

Specifically, the preliminary investigation revealed that Piloyan, with the assistance of his advisor, was involved in illegal actions on behalf of a private company cooperating with the ministry. In 2022, he received a large bribe of 1,000,000 AMD for facilitating necessary permits for the construction of a residential building adjacent to the ministry, as well as creating obstacles for other businesses providing similar services.