Arrest Made for Suspected Facilitation of Bribery to Prison Chief

An individual identified as S.G. has been arrested in connection with a criminal case being investigated by the Special Investigative Service of Armenia regarding abuses by officials at the 'Vanadzor' penitentiary and apparent incidents of bribery.

S.G. is suspected of committing a dangerous act as defined by part 3, clause 3 of Article 38-311 of the Armenian Criminal Code, which alleges that by maintaining close relationships with the head of the 'Vanadzor' penitentiary, he expressed willingness to assist in illegal actions benefiting a convicted inmate who holds authority among other inmates and detainees, as well as in cases of inaction for which he allegedly accepted bribes.

To eliminate possible obstacles to uncovering the facilitation of bribery, according to an established agreement, S.G. regularly received and transferred large sums of money as bribes from a convicted inmate to the aforementioned prison chief during the spring of 2019 at his dental clinic located in the city of Tashir.

The pre-investigation proceedings are ongoing, aimed at uncovering other instances of the alleged crime and identifying all individuals involved.