Investigative Committee report: Kasakh community land case

ArmInfo. The former head of the Kasakh community, along with five former administration  employees, has been implicated in the illegal alienation of 28  community-owned land plots valued at approximately AMD 228 million,  as reported by the Investigative Committee of the Republic of  Armenia. 

According to the source, the violations occurred through falsified  auction documents spanning from 2016 to 2019. The former community  head (identified as A.M., who served from 1996 to 2021) and his  nephew (administration secretary N.M.) allegedly coordinated the  scheme with members of the auction committee and administration  staff. They alienated 28 units of designated land in villages and  agricultural lands, which are community property, with a total market  value of approximately 228 million drams, to persons allegedly  recognized as the winners of these auctions, resulting in  particularly significant damage to the Kasakh community, the  integrity of community property, law and order, and the judicial  process. The above-mentioned land plots belonging to the Kasakh  community were illegally seized from the community fund, depriving  the community of any real opportunity to legally alienate the lands  it owned in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of  Armenia.

A criminal case has been launched under several articles of the RA  Criminal Code. Six individuals have been detained pending trial and  the imposition of preventive measures involving imprisonment.

It should be noted that A.M. most likely refers to Ara Mkrtchyan, who  headed the Kasakh community during the specified period. He is the  father of Anna Mkrtchyan, a former NA deputy from the opposition  "With Honor" faction.