Former Minister of Culture and Youth of RA Involved as Defendant for Abuse of Official Authority and Money Laundering and Search Declared, Charge Pressed against RA Ambassador to Israel for Supporting her
In the result of large-scale investigatory and other procedural actions conducted within the criminal case investigated in the Division of Investigation of Grave Crimes of Yerevan Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee a number of circumstances of abuses committed by the former Minister of Culture and Youth of the RA were found out.
Through investigation actual data were obtained that H.P. holding the position of Minister of Culture and Youth of the RA from 2006 and at the same time being the deputy chairperson of “Armenian Society of Cultural Relations and Cooperation with Foreign Countries” NGO, with the help of the Chairman of the NGO and then RA Ambassador to Israel A.S. made the land located at 3 Abovyan, Yerevan which was provided to the organization with the right of free use and was involved in the list of restrictions envisaged by the Article 60 of RA Land Code, the property of the NGO causing grave consequences by negligence.
Then the house and land estimated 201.000.000 AMD was invested in the capital of the LLC founded by the decision of the board of the above-mentioned NGO increasing the authorized capital by the amount of the deposit, then made it the property of the mentioned LLC and aiming to transfer the illegally obtained property, through formal transaction sold 100% share of the LLC for 550.000 USD to an off-shore company registered in British Virgin Islands owned by H.P.’s relative thus attempting to legitimize the illegally obtained property.
On the base of the obtained sufficient evidence the former Minister of Culture and Youth was involved as a defendant according to the Part 2 of the Article 308 (abuse of official authority) and the Point 1 of the Part 3 of the Article 190 (money laundering) of RA Criminal Code. Search was declared against her.
Charge was pressed against the Chairman of the NGO, RA Ambassador to Israel according to the Part 2 of the Article 38-308 (support to abuse of official authority) of RA Criminal Code. Mortgage in the amount of 20.000.000 AMD was chosen as a pretrial measure against him.
Note; Everyone charged with alleged crime offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.