6 Officials Detained in Corruption Case

The Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has uncovered numerous instances of bribery involving officials from the Armenian Ministry of Environment's Forest Committee, specifically from the 'Hayantar' State Non-Commercial Organization, in exchange for facilitating illegal logging activities in the Lori province of Armenia. As a result of extensive evidential and procedural actions conducted during the criminal investigation, it was established that the director of one of the forest enterprises of 'Hayantar' reached an agreement with five forest chiefs of the same enterprise between June 10 and September 29, 2024. They conspired to accept bribes for demonstrating leniency and allowing various illegal activities by exploiting their official powers and influence.

Following the agreement, the director and the forest chiefs received a total of approximately 1.5 million AMD in bribes from multiple individuals. In exchange, they permitted those individuals to carry out illegal logging activities within the territory of the forest enterprise, including exceeding the quantities specified in their logging permits, without any obstacles.

Charges have been brought against the forest enterprise director and the five forest chiefs under part 2, points 1 and 3 of Article 435 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (a total of 23 episodes). Additionally, those who provided the bribes face charges under part 2, point 3 of Article 436 of the Criminal Code. Detention has been applied as a precautionary measure for the six officials, while house arrest has been imposed on others. The preliminary investigation into the criminal case has concluded, and the materials have been submitted to the supervising prosecutor with the aim of obtaining approval and forwarding them to the court.