2018 December 12

Anti-Corruption Daily

Anti-Corruption 12/12/18: /// Serj's bodyguard agrees to give 2.9bln to state /// Kocharyan aide charged with massive bribery, property theft and violation of Constitutional order /// Manvel Grigoryan to remain in jail /// Two more school directors busted with bribery /// Opposition consolidates...
by ar_david_hh

All the accused are innocent until proven guilty by the court of law. Currency in Armenian Drams unless specified otherwise.

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Serj's bodyguard Vachagan Ghazaryan has again asked to be released on bail. The court initially denied, but the defense submitted a petition to have the main judge removed from the panel for an alleged violation of protocols during the hearing, but the court didn't find the violations to be valid and restored the session. The court will release the new and final verdict soon. The prosecutors want him to remain in jail for another 2 months, while the defense argues he should spend his time in freedom until the main trial.

Ghazaryan is accused of money laundering and other financial crimes. Months earlier, the lower court released him under bail, before the higher court overturned the decision and sent him back to cell after the prosecutors' challenge. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957874.html ----- http://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/150521

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Ghazaryan has announced his willingness to give 2.9 billion under his posession to state, while denying any wrongdoing. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957913.html

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Armen Grigoryan, former chief of staff of Robert Kocharyan, who was caught pressuring a Constitutional Court judge to declare Serj's 2008 presidential victory as valid, and subsequently was charged with the crime by the new administration, is now facing new charges.

He is accused of 1) Aiding his boss Kocharyan to break the Constitutional Order in March 1st case. 2) Large scale bribery 3) Large scale embezzlement of property.

Prosecutors have submitted a petition to court to have him arrested. We'll find out the verdict tomorrow.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957905.html

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Manvel Tushonka Grigoryan will remain in jail, after the court denies the bail offer and extends his detention by another 2 months. He was arrested for plundering state resources, stealing food designated for soldiers, and illegal possession of weapons and ammunition. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957906.html

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Yerevan School 192 director faces criminal charges for alleged bribery, aiding to bribery and waste of resources. He demanded a 730k bribe from a job applicant to hire her as a teacher. In another instance, he hired a lab worker who never came to work, then embezzled 1.2mln in salaries. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957881.html

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Prosecutors uncover a corruption case in a school in Little Sariar. The director registered his daughters as employees, who never came to work but received salaries, which was paid by the state. Two guards were similarly hired later. Total of 3.1mln was stolen. The director and the accomplices have plead guilty and returned the stolen funds. The Prosecutors have dropped the criminal charges, and urged Shirak governor to take an administrative action against the perpetrators. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957925.html

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Two social security employees in Vardenis who were earlier charges with 14mln embezzlement, have been arrested. They also demanded bribes from the poor to keep them in the list of aid recipients, as well as registering unqualified individuals as recipients in exchange for a bribe. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957901.html

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Criminal investigation is launched against one voter for attempting to vote twice. He voted once, returned later to the same precinct and tried to vote again, but the system read his fingerprint and notified the staff that he has already voted. The police was called. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957974.html

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Yerevan mayor Hayko says they number of calls with complaints and suggestions has increased 10x, which indicates higher trust in the administration. Says many of the problems have a decades long history that were ignored. Hayko met with internal audit team and encouraged them to do their work without a fear, promised to increase the number of auditors. http://www.armtimes.com/hy/article/150531

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About half a dozen smaller political parties, led by "Democrats" and Paruyr Hayrikyan's "National Self-Determination", have begun consolidating the opposition. They insist that BHK and Bright Armenia aren't a real opposition, and that although Bright can do checks and balance, many of their ideas are similar to QP's. https://news.am/arm/news/485958.html

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47 Syrian-Armenian refugee students will have 50% of their education cost subsidized by the government's 13.7mln fund, while 246 others to receive aid from various charity organizations https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957981.html

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New skiing resort will open in Ashotsk on January 19th. They plan to turn the region into a small hub for winter sports lovers. The project was aided by EU. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957917.html

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Karen Vardanyan, the CEO of Grand Holding, has donated 52mln worth respiratory medical equipment to children's hospital to eliminate the long waiting lists and save lives. http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/263442/

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EU ambassador, Great Britain and the Foreign Ministry of Iran have congratulated Armenia with free and successful elections. Britain vows to continue the work to help Armenia strengthen its institutions and bilateral cooperation http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/263453/ ------- http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/263419/ ----- http://www.panarmenian.net/arm/news/263435/

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European youth council and Schwarzkopf organization have organized a traditional concert in Berlin's Vilhelm cathedral dedicated to Christmas. This year's honorary guest was the Armenian ambassador to Germany, Ashot Smbatyan. The organizers talked about the April events and Armenian youth's role in it, the recent Parliamentary elections, and welcomed Armenia's adoption of democratic values. https://armenpress.am/arm/news/957955.html

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Link to original report: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/a5lyfo/anticorruption_121218_serjs_bodyguard_agrees_to/