Monday, April 15 2019 17:02

ArmInfo. In the criminal case  investigated by the Special Investigation Service of Armenia, the  former head of the Compulsory Enforcement Service of judicial acts of  the Republic of Armenia, former MP from the Republican party Mihran  Poghosyan was charged as a defendant under paragraph 1 of part 3 of  article 179 and part 2 of article 308 of the Criminal Code of the  Republic of Armenia for committing publicly dangerous acts.

According to the prosecution, Poghosyan, using his position,  embezzled property on a particularly large scale by embezzlement,  which led to dire consequences. As the SIS reports, Poghosyan, having  held the position of the head of the Compulsory Enforcement Service  (CES) since June 2008, appointed the person providing his personal  security as the first category consultant of the operations  department of the enforcement of the central body of the CES, and the  personal driver as the leading consultant of the same department.  They, in fact, did not fulfill the powers assigned to them under the  law, but fulfilled personal orders of Mihran Poghosyan, while  receiving, according to the staff list of the CES, salary and  payments in the amount of 44.199.463 AMD.

In addition, Mihran Poghosyan, using his official position against  the interests of the service, out of mercenary motives, in violation  of the requirements provided for by law and government decrees,  concluded agreements on the purchase of goods and the provision of  services with organizations managed by himself through authorized  representatives.

Thus, Mihran Poghosyan during 2011-2016 for the state funds entrusted  to him in the procurement process, provided for the needs of the CES  purchased from the Catherine Group company, founded by him in 1997  and later oversold, but de facto owned, 32 vehicles of the Bid brand  with a total value of 211.158.000 AMD Moreover, according to the SIS,  20 out of 32 cars were purchased at a price of 20.000.000 drams  higher than the real cost of their sale, as a result of which  property damage in a particularly large scale was caused to the  legitimate interests of the state, which led to grave consequences.

Moreover, in 2011, Mihran Poghosyan, through the citizens of foreign  countries, founded the business companies Hopkinten Trading  Incorporated and Sigtem Real Estates Incorporated in Panama, and in  October of the same year instead of foreign directors of companies  with his direct participation in relevant positions appointed persons  close to him. Then Mihran Poghosyan participated in the management of  the aforementioned organizations registered in the Panamanian  offshore zone through trustees, as a result of which the latter  founded other companies in Armenia, including Best Realty LLC.

Mihran Poghosyan, using his official powers and providing benefits,  perfected the organization, actually managing it from April 2014,  concluded an agreement on the valuation of real estate and movable  property from the CES of the RA Ministry of Justice in 2014-2016,  with the result that 43.890.000 AMD was paid out by the Service  provided to the indicated organization.

On April 13, 2019, the investigator of the Special Investigation  Service of the Republic of Armenia submitted to the court of general  jurisdiction of Yerevan a petition for election of arrest as a  preventive measure against Mihran Poghosyan, in his respect declared  wanted..

Within the framework of the criminal case, financial and economic  inspections and examinations were appointed to identify other  possible abuses.

To note, currently Poghosyan is abroad; earlier he promised to  provide the investigation with evidence, in the framework of the  criminal case initiated via Internet connection. However, the  investigating authority denied him this, demanding a direct  appearance. Head of the SIS, Sasun Khachatryan, subsequently assured  that Poghosyan agreed to return to his homeland and testify. However,  a few days later Poghosyan delivered an open letter in which he  qualified the criminal case of the show, in which, he noted, he does  not intend to take part. Poghosyan also qualified the persecution  against him as political.