Criminal Case Against Alik Sargsyan and Former Ararat Marz Governor Vardges Hovakimyan Closed

The Special Investigation Service has closed the criminal case against former MP and former police chief Alik Sargsyan and former Ararat Governor Vardges Hovakimyan. This was reported by 'Factinfo'.

The SIS announced that the case was closed due to the lack of sufficient evidence for criminal activity.

It is worth noting that Alik Sargsyan had submitted a report to the investigative authorities in 2018, alleging that the former governor of Ararat had demanded about $60,000 from him since 2012, under threat of publishing compromising information.

During the preparation of the materials, Vardges Hovakimyan also filed a counter-report, claiming that he transferred money to Alik Sargsyan in 2008 for the employment of his former employee's son in the police system. However, the latter was neither employed nor was the money returned.

A criminal case was initiated in the Investigative Committee under Article 182, Section 3, Point 2, Article 311, Section 4, Point 2, Article 312, Section 3, Point 1, and Article 313, Section 1 of the RA Criminal Code and was forwarded to the SIS for further investigation.

It should be noted that Alik Sargsyan has also filed a lawsuit against Vardges Hovakimyan and won. As previously reported, the former governor accused Alik Sargsyan of corruption and embezzlement from the state budget, labeling him as 'dishonorable'. A. Sargsyan demanded judicially that Hovakimyan apologize for these statements that caused offense.

The court of general jurisdiction for Ararat and Vayots Dzor marzes accepted the lawsuit and obliged former Governor Vardges Hovakimyan to publicly apologize to Alik Sargsyan for the harm caused. The court ruling has already entered into legal force, but the former governor has not yet publicly apologized to the former police chief.