Tuesday, December 4 2018 16:24

ArmInfo. The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia explained the need for the speedy deprivation of immunity of MP Aram Harutyunyan.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, a similar need arose  due to the fact that the investigation failed to contact or find  Harutyunyan to testify to them. "This means that Harutyunyan is  hiding from the investigation. That is why it was necessary to  quickly deprive him of his immunity and arrest if found. And attempts  to find any political motives here are unfounded. We urge various  political forces not to speculate on this issue in search of  dividends in the pre-election period", reads in a statement  Prosecutor General.

The Prosecutor General's Office also explained why it did not make a  request to deprive Harutyunyan of immunity: "We received actual  evidence of his guilt only on November 30, then all attempts to  detect and get in touch with Harutyunyan to carry out investigative  measures were unsuccessful. That is why we have just now made a  similar petition. And here you shouldn't look for political  prerequisites either, "the General Prosecutor's Office said, calling  on the MPs to ensure a quorum for discussing the issue of the  deprivation of Harutyunyan's immunity.

To note, the Republican Party and ARF Dashnaktsutyun qualified the  petition of the Prosecutor General's Office as an election show aimed  at denigrating the RPA and raising the rating of power. These parties  considered that there was no need for Harutyunyan to be deprived of  immunity at the height of the election campaign, because after the  dissolution of the current parliament in a few days, Harutyunyan  would automatically be deprived of immunity.  Meanwhile, Harutyunyan  wasn't able to reach the speaker of the parliament, Republican Ara  Babloyan.  Today's parliamentary meeting is not took place due to the  absence of a quorum due to the fact that the MPs are conducting  election campaigns.  To note, the General Prosecutor's Office made a  statement that in 2008, deputy Aram Harutyunyan, being the Minister  of Nature Protection and chairman of the interdepartmental commission  for the provision of licenses for the exploration and use of mineral  resources, demanded and received from S.A. $ 14 million to issue a  license for the study and development of non- ferrous metal deposits  in three regions of the republic - Syunik, Gegharkunik, Lori and  Kotayk. 6 million dollars were transferred through an intermediary in  cash, and 8 million also through an intermediary by bank transfer.   Trying to cover his tracks, Harutyunyan acquired property abroad by  committing a crime under the money- laundering clause. In this  criminal case, two citizens were charged under Section 2, Part 4 of  Article 38-311 (assistance in receiving a bribe by an official on a  large scale). They are sentenced to arrest and declared wanted.  "Thus, the data obtained in a criminal case are the basis for  attracting MP Aram Harutyunyan as an accused and being charged with  receiving a particularly large bribe (paragraph 2 of article 311 of  paragraph 4) and laundering money obtained by criminal means  (paragraph 1 of .3 of Article 190) ", the supervisor informs. The  Prosecutor General's Office notes that the obtained evidence confirms  the direct involvement of Aram Harutyunyan in criminal activities. He  is charged with committing especially serious crimes against the  civil service and economic activity. Other persons involved in the  case are either people close to Harutyunyan, or worked under his  superiors. This circumstance suggests that he can take measures to  exert an unlawful influence on the participants in the criminal  process while remaining at large. Proceeding from this, the  Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan appealed to the Chairman of the  National Assembly for obtaining consent to initiate criminal  proceedings against Aram Harutyunyan and to use the arrest as a  preventive measure.