Defense Officials Accused of Illegal Compensation and Bribery

The Criminal Proceedings initiated based on the measures carried out by the Operational-Investigative Department of the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia have established that the director of a company providing measurement services assisted the deputy head of the relevant division of the State Cadastre Committee in obtaining illegal compensation, and also personally bribed an official from the Ministry of Defense.

According to the information provided by the Armenian Anti-Corruption Committee, a citizen's application for the state registration of rights over real estate was rejected due to non-compliance with urban planning documents. Following this, the individual approached the director of the aforementioned company to resolve the issue. The director then contacted an official from the Cadastre Committee, who demanded an illegal compensation of $1,500 to address the problem. After reaching an agreement, the official guided the citizen to submit a new application to the committee based on different grounds.

On November 14, 2024, the citizen paid the required $1,500 to the company's director, who transferred $1,000 of that amount to the aforementioned official through an employee of the Cadastre Committee on the same day, while keeping the remaining amount for personal use. Consequently, the state registration of rights over the real estate was completed on November 19, 2024.

Additionally, the pre-investigation revealed that the director of the same company bribed the head of the Territorial Division of the Ministry of Defense for Drafting and Mobilization Services with 100,000 AMD in October 2024 to exempt one of his employees from participating in the regular training sessions. As a result, the mentioned employee was effectively released from exercise sessions.

Charges have been filed against six individuals under the relevant articles of the Armenian Criminal Code for giving and receiving illegal compensation, facilitating it, as well as bribing and receiving bribes, including officials from the State Cadastre Committee, the Ministry of Defense, and the company director. The pre-investigation phase of the criminal proceedings has been completed. The prosecutor has confirmed the indictment, and the materials of the proceedings have been sent to the Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia.

Notice: A person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedures established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia by a court decision that has taken legal effect.