ArmInfo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia verifies the accuracy of information about the "Armenian mafia" in the Germany and those involved in it, said on November 6th the Acting Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Nazaryan during the parliamentary hearings on the draft state budget for 2019.
According to an article published on November 2 in Der Spiegel, for three years, the police tried to arrest members of the Armenian mafia in Germany. A strictly classified special operation under the code name Fight against thieves in law was conducted by the Federal Criminal Police Office (FCP) together with six land specialized agencies (LKA). The publication emphasizes that this operation was one of the largest investigations on organized crime in Germany. According to the FCP specialists, to whom Der Spiegel refers, the Armenian mafia in Germany "really exists." Together with other groups from the Russian- Eurasian criminal circles, it has "substantial financial" resources and can "threaten the foundations of the rule of law." However, due to lack of evidence, the results of the investigations have not yet led to accusations and criminal cases. In addition, as noted, the topic of crime also affected diplomatic relations. According to Der Spiegel and MDR, the ambassador of Armenia to Germany, Ashot Smbatyan, offered his German investigators assistance in the fight against the Armenian mafia. However, the FCP recommended not agreeing to this cooperation, noting that the investigators do not exclude the connections of thieves in the law with representatives of state structures of Armenia. Well-known boxers of Armenian origin Arthur Abraham, Karo Murat and his brother are also indicated as likely members of the grouping.
According to Nazaryan, the Foreign Ministry is in contact with the relevant law enforcement agencies of Germany to verify the accuracy of the information received. "Given the specificity of the issue and the fact that it mentions names, including diplomats, I do not consider it appropriate to provide more detailed data," said Nazaryan. At the same time, he said that after receiving answers to requests sent to Germany, it would be possible to provide more detailed data.