Criminal charges brought against ex-head of Goravan community 

ArmInfo.  The RA Anti-Corruption Committee has established that the person who held the position of head of the Goravan community of the Ararat region of the Republic of  Armenia from 2003 to 2021, illegally organized and held land auctions  and lease tenders during the said period, in which members of his  family, who did not have the right to participate in the auction,  participated and were recognized as winners. Moreover, according to  the source, in many cases the participation of persons appointed as  second participants in the auction was formal, or the relevant  persons did not participate in the auctions at all. Similarly, the  head of the community also alienated a number of other land plots  belonging to the community to other persons in violation of the  requirements of the law. As a result of the above-mentioned illegal  auctions and lease tenders, 45 land plots of various purposes with a  total area of 120 hectares were sold to family members, and 9 land  plots with a total area of 556 hectares were leased, 13 land plots  with a total area of 48 hectares were alienated to other persons.

As a result of the criminal actions of the head of the Goravan  community, the community was deprived of the legal right to dispose  of and use 67 land plots with a total area of about 725 hectares,  exceeding the market value of 100 million drams.

Then, the head of the community, wanting to hide the true nature and  source of origin of 6 land plots acquired by criminal means,  concluded formal donation and sale and purchase agreements, by which  he actually acquired the right to own and use them. Thus, the  official legalized the property acquired by criminal means,  committing money laundering.

During the preliminary investigation, it was also established that  the head of the community, having an outstanding property tax debt  for the cars he owned in the amount of about 1 million 245 thousand  drams, paid the property tax in a significantly smaller amount during  2021, after which he instructed a community employee to enter false  information into the property tax payment platform that the debt had  been paid in full. Thus, the head of the community, using his  official position, caused property damage to the Goravan community in  the total amount of 1 million drams.

In addition, it was established that during 2021, the head of the  community refueled a car for personal use with gasoline coupons in  the amount of 1 million 130 thousand drams allocated to the  community, thereby embezzling the said amount. The former head of the  Goravan community has been charged with embezzlement on an especially  large scale, causing property damage on an especially large scale,  abuse of office (65 counts) and money laundering (6 counts).

The preliminary investigation of the criminal case has been  completed. The case materials along with the indictment have been  sent to the supervising prosecutor with a motion to approve them and  send them to court.