ArmInfo. The "offshore case" of Mihran Poghosyan, ex-head of the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service (JACES) is not dismissed, Armenian Justice Minister Arpine Hovhannisyan said in an interview with Kentron TV.
"After the Special Investigation Service terminates the proceeding, a 6-month phase of procuracy supervision begins and the Prosecutor will actually touch on the substantiation of the proceeding termination," she said.
To note, Mihran Poghosyan is running in the parliamentary elections on the rating-based list of the Republican Party of Armenia at the constituency No.1 (Avan-Massiv, Kanaker-Zeytun).
To note, on April 3, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published the findings of a survey that investigated the global offshore network and featured nearly 11.5 million documents. The documents reveal the scales of "shadow economy" involving the leading world politicians and businessmen. According to these documents, Mihran Poghosyan is the shareholder of three companies registered in Panama: Sigtem Real Estates Incorporated, Hopkinten Trading Incorporated, BANGIO INVEST S.A. So, Poghosyan conducts business through the companies registered in Panama and conceals the income.
The Special Investigation Service reported that a criminal case was instituted against Poghosyan based on Article 310 of the Armenian Criminal Code (Participation of a state official, despite the legal ban, in the founding, management of an entrepreneurial organization, personally or through proxy, when these actions involve granting this organization privileges and advantages, is punished with deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or practice certain activities for up to 5 years, and a fine in the amount of 200 to 400 minimal salaries, or with arrest for the term of 1-3 months, or with imprisonment for the term of up to 2 years). However, on 25 Jan 2017, the Special Investigation Service of Armenia dismissed the criminal proceeding on "the offshore case" of Poghosyan due to the lack of evidence.