Illegal Sales of 15 Land Plots Uncovered in the Case Against Hovik Abrahamyan, SCC

During the ongoing investigation of a criminal case involving former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan at the Special Investigation Service of Armenia, it has been revealed that local leaders and auction commission members from the communities of Dilijan, Mkhchyan, and Narek sold 15 land plots owned by these communities to relatives and close associates of Abrahamyan through falsified documents, without organizing public auctions.

Specifically, the following properties were obtained through the aforementioned illegal means: mixed-use land plots with an area of 15,000 sq. m. at 26 Babajanyan Street and 57,000 sq. m. at 24 Babajanyan Street in Dilijan, as well as residential land intended for building homes located at addresses 42, 44, 46, and 48 Saralanj Street with areas of 731, 761, 701, and 720 sq. m., respectively. Additionally, in Mkhchyan village, Ararat province, there were four dry land plots of the 4th category measuring 8.9 ha, 9.1 ha, 8 ha, and 9 ha, along with a production land plot of 4,092 sq. m. In Narek village, also in Ararat province, there was arable land measuring 90 ha and pastureland measuring 30 ha.

Considering that in certain cases the statutory limitation periods for criminal liability have passed, and in others the law on amnesty has been applicable, individuals involved in these illegal acts have appealed to the prosecuting body to refrain from initiating criminal prosecution against them based on these grounds. Consequently, the investigator of the Special Investigation Service has made a decision not to pursue criminal charges against them. Samples of these decisions have been sent to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia to initiate the process of recognizing the administrative acts as null and returning the aforementioned properties to the communities of Dilijan, Mkhchyan, and Narek.

The investigation continues to explore potential other abuses and the full scope of individuals involved.