Extortion of Large Sums Through Threats of Dispersing Defamatory Information

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has uncovered the circumstances of an extortion case involving a resident of Yerevan.

Charges have been brought against two individuals, as reported by the information and public relations division of the Investigative Committee.

Following investigative actions, it has been determined that two female residents of Yerevan, born in 1994 and 1999, had, with a united intention, extorted substantial sums of money from a 34-year-old resident of Yerevan by threatening to disseminate defamatory information about him. They demanded and received a particularly large amount of 1,000,000 AMD from him through periodic extortion.

On January 10, 2020, during an attempt to extort another amount of 50,000 AMD, a 26-year-old woman was apprehended by police on Tevosyan Street, where a personal search revealed the extorted money.

Based on the combination of sufficient evidence, charges have been brought against both women under Articles 182, parts 2, 2 and 3.1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia. A detention order has been selected for the 26-year-old woman, while a signature not to leave has been imposed on the 21-year-old woman.

The preliminary investigation is ongoing.