Over 18 Million Dram Embezzled Using ‘Adjarabet’, ‘EasyPay’, and ‘Tel-Cell’ Terminals: New Details

As a result of extensive investigative and procedural actions carried out by the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia pertaining to a criminal case under the main administration for particularly important cases, details of a large-scale embezzlement using computer technology by a group of individuals have emerged. Charges have been brought against three individuals.

The Investigative Committee reports that, according to data obtained during the investigation, a 28-year-old man and his three close associates, aware of the technical setup features of the withdrawal system on the adjarabet.am website associated with the company 'Sabarko' LLC, committed a large-scale embezzlement with a unified intent using computer technology.

It has been established that from January 4 to January 12, 2020, in preliminary agreement to implement a criminal intent, they used their gaming accounts registered on the adjarabet.am website, accessing funds credited to these accounts through various payment terminals at different times and days. In a short timeframe, they made these funds available for withdrawal to the website's system by sending a cash withdrawal request, resulting in receiving one-time use codes via SMS to the mobile number linked to the gaming account for the purpose of cashing out the available funds.

Subsequently, by coordinating actions with various teams, they approached 'Sabarko' LLC's service offices located on different streets in Yerevan where ‘adjarabet’, ‘EasyPay’, and ‘Tel-Cell’ payment terminals were situated, and simultaneously or within a matter of seconds, they entered the one-time digital codes received via SMS into the specified payment terminals, withdrew cash, and embezzled a particularly large amount of over 18 million Armenian drams using computer technology.

Based on a sufficient combination of evidence, charges have been brought against the 28-year-old and his two associates under the first part of the third section of Article 181 of the RA Criminal Code (embezzlement committed using computer technology). A measure of restraint has been chosen for them, which is a signature not to leave. Another individual has been declared wanted.

The preliminary investigation regarding the three accused has been completed, and the criminal case, with an accusatory conclusion, has been sent to court.