50 Million Drams Recovered from Former Gundevaz Leader's Misconduct Case

The Investigative Committee of Armenia's Vayots Dzor region has accepted a case regarding the abuses reportedly committed by the former leader of the Gundevaz community. This case was initiated at the Police under the first part of Article 308 of the Criminal Code, with the state suffering damages that have been partially recovered.

As a result of extensive investigative actions during the pre-trial investigation, factual data has been obtained regarding the alleged abuses committed by the community leader during the land transfer process, revealing the mechanism that facilitated these actions.

Specifically, the community leader, aware that a certain company was purchasing land, misused his official powers for personal gain, using his official position against the interests of public service. As the head of the body organizing the auction for the transfer of lands, he sold a 9.91-hectare piece of community pasture land on May 29, 2014, for 410,130 AMD to his son, based on the minutes of the auction commission. Subsequently, on May 26, 2015, his son sold the same piece of land to the company for a significantly higher price of 147,300,838 AMD, causing substantial damage to the community.

As a preventive measure, a signature not to leave has been imposed on the former community leader. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and necessary investigative actions are being undertaken to ensure a comprehensive, objective, and complete examination of all circumstances of the case, to identify all individuals involved in the abuses, and to clarify their actions. Furthermore, preliminary data regarding possible abuses in other transactions are also being verified.

During the investigation, 50 million AMD has been recovered from the damages inflicted on the community.

Notice: The suspect or accused in a presumed crime is considered innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia by a legally effective court ruling.