ArmInfo.The Court of Appeal dismissed the complaint of the lawyer of the former head of the RA Urban Planning Committee, Vahagn Vermishyan, regarding the extension of his arrest by two months. Meanwhile, the defense intends to appeal the decision and file a cassation appeal.
Vahagn Vermishyan was arrested on February 10. According to the National Security Service, he, using official authority, contrary to state interests and having agreed with several developers, received five bribes in the amount of 1 to 2.5 million drams in exchange for making the necessary construction decisions. So, in order to hide the receipt of bribes, Vermishyan opened a company conducting design work and registered it in the name of one of his relatives. For receiving projects, the official made the developers with whom he worked to apply to that company.
In addition, in October 2019, Vermishyan met with the owner of several construction companies, whom he promised to introduce him to the title of Honored Builder of Armenia. In exchange, he received $ 5 thousand and building materials for about the same amount. As part of the criminal case, the suspects were taken to the NSS, and three of them, including the chairman of the committee, were detained. The official who received the bribe confessed to the crime. The investigation is ongoing.
Six more persons were charged in the criminal case against Vermishyan.