ArmInfo. The National Security Service of Armenia presented new details on the progress of the investigation of the criminal case on corruption by senior officials of the State Revenue Committee, which is held by the former head of the State Duma, former Finance Minister Gagik Khachatryan.
So, according to the NSS RA report received by ArmInfo, during investigative measures in the framework of the above case, they were received factual evidence that the sons of a person holding the post of Minister of Finance at the time, by prior conspiracy with relatives, based on the position held by their father, founded a trade organization to deliver goods to the tax and customs authorities of the Republic of Armenia and provide information technology services .
At the same time, the department noted that the father himself out of personal interests, using his post to the detriment of official interests, instructed the officials of the State Duma, and then the Ministry of Finance to cooperate with employees of this organization and, if possible, facilitate them: ensure proper participation in tenders in the field of information technologies, provide the necessary information for this, remove obstacles and apply more favorable procurement procedures.
NSS RA stated that, taking advantage of their privileged position, the employees of the above trade organization concluded many agreements between 2008 and 2020 for the supply of goods and services, due to which the state funds were transferred on a particularly large scale.
"In addition, the above state official responsible for obtaining state revenues, implementing the government's policy in the field of public finance management, realizing the need to modernize customs information systems and acquire new information systems using his official position, with the intention of embezzling property on a particularly large scale, with the participation of other persons depending on him by type of service, concluded 19 agreements on the acquisition of software modules with the above com As a result, despite the fact that under the agreement the above works were performed for 2,777,410,417 drams, 4,283,580,000 drams were transferred from the state accounts of the company, as a result of which 1,506,169,583 drams were stolen due to the connivance of the above official and with the help of his sons, "the NSS of Armenia noted.
The ministry also informed that, in order to conceal the criminal nature of the funds acquired, the above funds were cashed through dummies, but in fact they were managed by the sons of the above official and their relative, including through a third party they were deposited into the accounts of the telecommunications company Ucom and used in an entrepreneurial company activities. The NSS once again recalled the involvement of the sons of the aforementioned official in receiving a bribe from the CEO of a large concern ($ 22,401,000), as ArmInfo previously reported. The NSS recalled that when summing up the evidence received, the head of the business entity was charged, the court elected arrest.
The ministry noted that after that, on April 28, the decision was made by the organization conducting the proceedings to amend the charges against the son, the official who is in the territory of the Republic of Armenia and is involved in the case as the accused, to supplement them and re-present them. The NSS also emphasized that the aforementioned person, duly informed of the need to appear at the bodies carrying out the proceedings, violated the requirements for the measure of restraint (recognizance not to leave), disappeared from the investigation. He is wanted, and arrested in absentia. The department also informed that all necessary measures are being taken to find out his whereabouts, as well as to identify the entire chain of the criminal scheme.
Note that this is the son of the former head of the State Revenue Committee and the Ministry of Finance Gagik Khachatryan - Gurgen Khachatryan, who is a co-founder of the Galax group of companies and chairman of the board of directors of a major telecommunications company Ucom, and accused of aiding in transferring a bribe. R Earlier, it was reported that numerous searches were conducted by the National Security Service in the offices and apartments of the Khachatryan family, as well as in the office of the newly appointed director of Ucom, Ara Khachatryan.
Last week, Ucom owners under investigation accused the Armenian authorities of pressure to transfer assets. In response, the press secretary of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Mane Gevorgyan, stated that, according to the data of the Government of Armenia, the former Chairman of the State Duma of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Khachatryan and his sons led the corrupt mafia structure operating in Armenia for many years, as a result of which they accumulated illegal funds in several hundred million dollars. She also added that the government has information that the ex-president of the RA Serzh Sargsyan, Mikael Minasyan, also has a share of corruption in UCOM, and he is the de facto owner of some of the shares of Khachatryanov. It was also noted that the sale of shares of Khachatryans would be possible only if the entire amount received for this sale would be transferred to the state budget of Armenia. We add that the final beneficiary of Ucom is the family of the former super-minister - Minister of Finance and QGD Gagik Khachatryan. Today, both Gagik Khachatryan himself and his sons and nephew (owners of Galaxy) are accused of embezzlement on an especially large scale and abuse of office. Gagik Khachatryan was charged under part 2 of article 308 of the RA Criminal Code (misappropriation or embezzlement of funds on an especially large scale) and part 2 of article 308 of the RA Criminal Code (abuse of official authority entailing grave consequences through negligence). Being a government official all his life, Khachatryan became one of the richest people in the country. Ucom enjoyed enormous informal privileges before the Velvet Revolution and, for all its years, despite operating profit, worked with huge balance sheet losses and, as a result, did not pay income taxes.