Public Criminal Proceedings Initiated Against Members of Criminal Group: Investigative Committee

The Armenian Investigative Committee’s Main Investigation Department for Particularly Important Cases has completed the preliminary investigation of a multifaceted, large-scale, premeditated, and jointly developed series of fraudulent schemes and counterfeit currency transactions.

During the investigation, substantial evidence was gathered indicating that N.P., with the direct intent to commit theft, collaborated with V.Q. and other unidentified individuals to develop fraudulent mechanisms from May 2021 to May 2025. These schemes involved various criminal activities.

Specifically, members of the criminal group approached drivers of taxi services and freight transport companies, enticing them with lucrative orders, asking them to purchase certain goods and deliver them to specified locations, but failing to pay for these services. Then, they persuaded the victims to transfer various amounts of money to bank accounts belonging to drivers from taxi services, thereby stealing the funds transferred by citizens.

Moreover, the members of the criminal group called various citizens, posing as meat suppliers, and then misled them with false information to steal livestock owned by them.

In another instance, the criminal group members familiarized themselves with advertisements on the “List.am” website regarding the sale of mobile phones, contacted the sellers, and in exchange for the phones, provided them with fake banknotes regarded as souvenirs, thus fraudulently acquiring the mobile phones.

The amount of money stolen from the victims by the criminal group ranged from 20,000 to 1.2 million AMD.

During the investigation, public criminal proceedings have been initiated against V.Q. under Articles 255, Part 1 and Part 2 of the Criminal Code (Fraud, 5 episodes), while against N.P. under the same article (100 episodes), as well as under Article 476, Part 2, Clause 3 (False Reporting, 1 episode) and Article 267, Part 2, Clause 1 (Preparing, keeping, transporting, delivering, acquiring, or selling counterfeit currency, foreign currency, securities, accounting documents, or payment instruments for the purpose of sale, 1 episode).

As a precautionary measure, house arrest and a travel ban have been imposed on V.Q., while N.P. is in custody. The criminal case has been sent to the supervising prosecutor with an accusatory conclusion.