The preliminary investigation under the criminal proceedings carried out by the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Republic of Armenia has established that the person holding the position of the Head of Vanadzor Community abused his official position contrary to the interests of the service and committed official forgery.

Specifically, the preliminary investigation established that in 2021 the mentioned official intended to separate a portion of a 3.12-hectare land plot that had been transferred to Vanadzor Community free of charge and, in violation of the procedure established by law, alienate a portion to a resident of Vanadzor. To carry out this criminal plan, the former official changed the functional designation of several land plots of varying sizes created from the subdivision of the property and assigned them official addresses, thereby artificially creating legal grounds for granting development rights to those plots without holding a competitive bidding process.

Subsequently, by entering false information into official documents, the former Head of the Community alienated the land plots located on Tigran Mets Avenue in Vanadzor directly to a local resident without obtaining the required decision of the Community Council.

As a result of these actions, the community was deprived of the opportunity to dispose of community-owned property with a market value of AMD 24,890,000.

Charges have been brought against the former Head of Vanadzor Community. The preliminary investigation has been completed, and the materials of the criminal proceedings, together with the indictment, have been referred to the Anti-Corruption Court of the Republic of Armenia.

Notification. the person accused of a crime is considered innocent until his guilt is proven in accordance with the procedure established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code by a verdict entered into legal force.