Incidents of Bribery Involving Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Revenue Committee Uncovered

Based on operational-investigative measures conducted by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia, it has been revealed that an official from the registration and examination department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) illegally accepted bribes from multiple individuals in exchange for performing certain unlawful actions in their favor.

Specifically, it has been determined that from January to April 2025, the MIA official organized the process of conducting formal practical exams for various individuals, awarding them positive evaluations and adding categories “B”, “BE”, and “CE” to their driving licenses through the assistance of three accomplices. In return, he demanded and received bribes totaling 180,000, 250,000, and 350,000 Armenian drams from these individuals, respectively. Consequently, the aforementioned official accepted the formal exams and assigned positive evaluations, granting them licenses with the respective categories.

Furthermore, during the same criminal proceedings, a case of large-scale bribery was uncovered involving the head tax inspector from the comprehensive tax audits division of the State Revenue Committee. It was found that between September 19, 2024, and February 12, 2025, the tax inspector, acting as the leader of the inspecting group, along with two other chief tax inspectors from the same division, conducted a tax audit at a company owned by one of the individuals who assisted the MIA official in receiving bribes.

During the audit, the tax inspector demanded a substantial bribe of 4,000,000 Armenian drams from the entrepreneur, in exchange for ensuring that no audits would be conducted at the company for the next three years. This was conditional on the entrepreneur settling tax obligations, which amounted to approximately 6,000,000 Armenian drams, identified during the comprehensive tax audit but previously unaddressed. According to the agreement, on February 17, 2025, the chief inspector received $10,000, equivalent to 3,963,900 Armenian drams, personally as the bribe.

Charges have been brought against 11 individuals for bribery, including the MIA official from the Artashat registration and examination department and the chief tax inspector from the State Revenue Committee. Three of the accused have been detained as a preventive measure. The pre-trial investigation has been completed, and the materials of the case with an indictment conclusion have been sent to the Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia.