Former Head of Hrazdan Illegally Alienated 11 Hectares of Forest Land

The preliminary investigation launched by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has established that the former head of the Hrazdan community in Kotayk Province, along with the head of a relevant department in the municipality and with the assistance of two individuals, illegally alienated a forest land area totaling 11 hectares.

Specifically, these officials from the Hrazdan Municipality sold the community property consisting of 11 hectares of land through a formal auction, which included 9.79 hectares of land designated as a protected area for recreation, as well as a total of 1.21 hectares of state significance forest land that is not subject to alienation, under Article 60 of the Armenian Land Code.

Furthermore, the former head of the community concealed the fact of the land sale from the members of the council, and there was no decision made by the council regarding the alienation of the land parcel.

The investigation also revealed that bids to participate in the auction were accepted from two individuals, despite the fact that they had no intention of participating in the auction or acquiring the land. Subsequently, on July 7, 2008, the aforementioned officials organized a superficial auction, where the actual participants were not present, and no auction steps were taken by them. Meanwhile, the officials created a false record regarding the sale of the land at auction, including inaccurate information that one of the auction participants had allegedly offered a maximum price of 41 million AMD, to whom the land was later alienated.

The former head of the Hrazdan community and the head of the municipality's department have been charged under Part 2 of Article 308 and Part 1 of Article 314 of the former Criminal Code of Armenia, while the two accomplices have been charged under Part 2 of Article 38-308 and Part 1 of Article 38-314 of the same code.

The criminal prosecution against the former head of Hrazdan was terminated due to the expiration of the statute of limitations, which exempted him from criminal liability. The investigation concerning the head of the Hrazdan municipality's department and the two individuals who assisted him has been concluded, and the case materials have been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia with an accusatory conclusion.