Vladimir Gasparyan Leaves Armenia

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that Vladimir Gasparyan, former Chief of Police of Armenia and a defendant in a criminal case being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Committee, has left Armenia. It is known that on January 13, 2022, the Anti-Corruption Committee completed its investigation into the corruption charges against Gasparyan and sent the case to the supervising prosecutor for submission to court.

The general-lieutenant, who held high positions in the law enforcement system for 18 years, is accused of legalizing more than 2 billion drams (approximately $4 million) obtained through criminal means. Gasparyan had signed a statement not to leave the country; however, on January 18, the Prosecutor's Office announced that the case against him had been sent back to the General Prosecutor's Office for additional investigation regarding the corruption charges.

While the Anti-Corruption Committee is conducting this further examination, another criminal case involving the former police chief is also being reviewed by the court, yet the judicial system allowed Gasparyan to leave the country. According to information from the "Zhoghovurd" newspaper, Vladimir Gasparyan is now in Moscow.

We attempted to confirm this information with the General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia, which responded that the court granted a request from the defense to temporarily lift the exit restriction for Gasparyan to undergo treatment abroad. During the request discussions, the prosecutor expressed disagreement with the decision.

Essentially, the prosecutor's office confirmed our information, stating that they opposed this decision, but the former police chief is no longer in the country.