Home Arrest Imposed on College Director in Armenia for Demanding and Accepting Bribes from Students

The Criminal Procedure conducted by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has revealed significant misconduct by the director of a college under the National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia. Since 2019, this individual has allegedly exploited their official powers and influence to perform actions favoring a student regarding their academic progression.

Specifically, the college director is accused of negotiating with faculty members to assign necessary grades and provide a diploma to a student who did not attend required academic and practical courses, in exchange for a bribe.

The investigation also uncovered that the director received a bribe from the parent of another student to assign high grades to facilitate the student's transfer for the next academic year, despite their poor academic performance. Moreover, the same official allegedly accepted a bribe from yet another student's parent for not recording absences and granting high grades necessary for a transfer to the following academic year.

The director has been charged under Article 435, Part 2, Point 3 of the RA Criminal Code for demanding and receiving bribes, while the students' bribers face charges under Article 436, Part 2, Point 3, and an individual who mediated the bribes is charged under Article 437, Part 1.

As preventive measures, home arrest has been imposed on the college director and the suspension from service has been enacted. One of the bribers is also under home arrest. The investigation into the criminal case has concluded, and the materials have been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia with an accusatory conclusion.