Social Security Service Official Arrested for Bribery: NSS

The National Security Service (NSS) of the Republic of Armenia has uncovered cases of bribery involving the head of the territorial division of the Social Security Service in Gavar as part of its activities aimed at combating corruption.

According to the press center of the NSS, preliminary information indicates that the head of the Gavar territorial division of the Social Security Service prepared and used false official documents to introduce fabricated data related to working experience into the database of the state pension system. This was done to ensure a higher pension amount for beneficiaries. From January 2019 until now, he has demanded and received bribes of up to 300,000 Armenian drams from each beneficiary, totaling 1,280,000 drams in especially large amounts.

On June 19, 2019, the official was apprehended while receiving another bribe of 210,000 drams, alongside the person giving the bribe, by NSS employees. The money was found hidden inside the citizen's passport.

A criminal case has been initiated in the NSS investigative department regarding the observed crime under the relevant articles of the RA Criminal Code. Charges have been laid against the official, and the measure of restraint chosen is detention.