Bribery of $10,000 to Free a Defendant: Anti-Corruption Committee Reveals Details of Artush Gabrielyan's Case

The pre-investigation into the criminal case against a representative of the judicial authority of the Republic of Armenia, accused of receiving a bribe of $10,000, has been completed. This was reported by the Anti-Corruption Committee.

The statement noted: "As a result of extensive activities conducted by the Operational-Investigative Department of the Anti-Corruption Committee, a criminal case was initiated, revealing the receipt of a large bribe of $10,000 by a representative of the judicial authority of the Republic of Armenia. Specifically, it was determined that G. Kh. had reached an agreement with a judge of the general jurisdiction criminal court in Yerevan, whereby he would create artificial grounds in exchange for a bribe to appoint a forensic examination regarding Z. S.'s criminal case and to prolong the judicial proceedings unnecessarily by not submitting the decision to the designated expert institution, thus leading to the release of the defendant from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for the crime committed.

During the pre-investigation, it was established that the judge, obligated to conduct the examination and resolution of the case within a reasonable time and to ensure a fair trial, instead of fulfilling the legally prescribed responsibilities, demanded a bribe equivalent to 3,892,500 AMD, or $10,000, through G. Kh. on April 9, 2025, for the aforementioned illegal actions and inaction benefiting Z. S.

Z. S., agreeing to the judge’s bribe offer, handed over the demanded bribe amount to G. Kh. on April 22, 2025, intended for transfer to the judge. The judge has been charged under part 3, point 2 of Article 435 of the RA Criminal Code for receiving a large bribe, G. Kh., who assisted him, under part 3, point 2 of Article 46-435 of the RA Criminal Code, and Z. S., under part 2, point 3 of Article 436 of the RA Criminal Code.

Preventive measures of detention have been applied to the defendants.