Andranik Piloyan Found Guilty

The Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Judge Tigran Davtyan, has issued a verdict in the case of former Minister of Emergency Situations Andranik Piloyan and others.

One of the accusations against Piloyan, receiving large bribes (in two instances), has been reclassified under Article 255 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia as fraud. He has been found guilty of abuse of office, fraud, and accepting bribes. The court will address the issue of punishment in a subsequent phase of hearings. The first court session for these additional hearings will take place on September 20.

Other individuals involved in the case, including officials from the Ministry of Emergency Situations such as Vigen Grigoryan, Artak Beybutyan, Vigen Mkrtchyan, Arthur Ohanyan, and Hrachya Yeremyan, have also been found guilty of the charges brought against them.

Ara Yaghjyan has been acquitted, while Ashot Hakobyan has been acquitted of one article, with the court reclassifying part of the charges. He has been found guilty of committing fraud that occurred with the preliminary agreement of a group of persons, using official or service powers or the influence derived from them.

It is noteworthy that Andranik Piloyan, his adviser, as well as more than ten employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, including heads of various departments, are accused of accepting especially large bribes, facilitating this, abusing their official position, committing large-scale theft through fraud, as well as receiving, giving, and other abuses involving illegal remuneration on a large and especially large scale.