Deputy Director of Medical Center Arrested for Accepting Bribes to Help Draftees Avoid Mandatory Military Service

The Armenian Anti-Corruption Committee has launched a multi-episode criminal case based on information received from its operational-investigative department regarding apparent crimes. It has been substantiated that the deputy director of a registered international medical center in Armenia assisted several draftees in avoiding mandatory military service in exchange for bribes.

Specifically, the investigation revealed that during 2023, the deputy director of the medical center demanded and personally received a sum equivalent to $3,500, specifically 1,351,000 AMD, from a draftee's parent as a bribe. This was in exchange for including false information about the draftee's health condition in documents, thereby facilitating their avoidance of mandatory military service despite the absence of statutory grounds.

Furthermore, in 2024, the aforementioned individual continued to prepare false medical information about draftees’ health conditions based on referrals from military commissariats and on his own initiative, organizing processes to help them evade mandatory military service. This was done in exchange for various amounts of money demanded and personally received from the parents of these draftees as bribes.

The investigation also revealed that in 2025, with the assistance of another researcher from the same medical center, the deputy director created conditions for another draftee to evade military service through document forgery. However, due to circumstances beyond his control, he could not execute the crime as it was exposed by employees of the Anti-Corruption Committee prior to the declaration of the next draft.

The deputy director has been charged under Articles 272, Paragraph 2, Subsections 2 and 3, and Article 46-43-461, Paragraph 2, Subsection 2 of the RA Criminal Code. As a measure of restraint, he was initially placed in custody, which was later replaced with combined alternative measures. Charges have also been brought against eight individuals who assisted the deputy director and provided him with bribes.

The pre-trial investigation has concluded, and the case materials have been sent to the Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia with an accusatory conclusion.