Charge pressed against "North South Road" program chief contractor  company director  

ArmInfo. Preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated on apparent abuses  committed within implementation of <North-South Road> program is  ongoing in General Department of Investigation of Particularly  Important Cases of the RA Investigative Committee. 

As the press service of the Investigative Committee informs, in the  result of investigatory and other procedural actions of great volume  conducted within the criminal case data were obtained on swindling  871 million AMD tantamount to 1.8 million USD through signing and  confirming fake payment certificates with supplementary, data on the  work more than done actually committed by the director of chief  contractor Spanish company which implemented construction work at  Transh 1 and Transh 2 parts of <North-South Road> program together  with the head of the team of French company carrying out technical  supervision. 

On the base of the obtained evidence a decision was made to involve  the director of chief contractor company as a defendant according to  the Point 1 of the Part 3 of the Article 178 of RA Criminal Code,  detention was chosen as a pretrial measure against him. Considering  that the latter is not in the RA search was declared against him. It  was earlier informed that charge was pressed against the head of the  team of French company, as well.

Besides, in the result of investigatory and procedural joint actions  of great volume conducted by the officers of the Investigative  Committee and National Security Service data were obtained on money  laundering between the contractor and subcontractor companies while  implementing the program, a clearly set scheme was disclosed through  which the money obtained in a criminal way in the result of the  preceding crimes was legitimized.  

At this stage of investigation of cases on money laundering between  the contractor and subcontractor companies while implementing the  program charges were pressed against two directors of subcontractor  companies, a decision was made to involve the person who has  organized this as a defendant and search was declared against him.  

Necessary measures are taken to find out all circumstances of the  case, the whole frame of those related to it.  

Considering that the volume of the mentioned criminal case is  unprecedented the investigative body consistently goes on with  preliminary investigation cooperating with other law enforcement  bodies to provide the comprehensive, objective and complete  investigation, to reveal those having committed the apparent crime  and to bring them to liability. 

Preliminary investigation is ongoing.

Earlier ArmInfo reported that, on the basis of obtained facts, on  September 4, 2018, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia opened  a criminal case on the grounds of part 2 of Article 308 (abuse of  official authority, entailing grave consequences through negligence)  of the RA Criminal Code. Pre-trial proceedings are carried out by the  Main Directorates for Particularly Important Cases of the RA  Investigative Committee. According to the Prosecutor General's  Office, as a result of a comprehensive study of the materials, it was  revealed that officials involved in the development and  implementation of the North-South Transport Corridor program during  2009-2018 in order to conceal facts indicating a clear ineffective  management of the Program, to create an illusion of the  implementation of the Program in accordance with its goals and  objectives, based on personal and group interests, used their  official position to the detriment of official obligations, as a  result of which they harmed the legitimate interests of the state and  society , which led to grave consequences. In particular, for about  nine years in violation of the scheduled timelines, the construction  work of the North-South highway was not completed, the goals and  results expected from the program by citizens, the public and the  state were not implemented in terms of reducing transportation time,  creating a safe, high-quality highway and incentive for development  economics and business connections. Moreover, the state suffered  damage of 23.553.817.000 drams (about $ 48.69 million).

It was reported that in some cases, they raised priced by fixing in  contracts for the provision of advisory services, a price that was  twice the amount fixed in legal acts, unjustifiably making changes to  the content and value of contracts, and added repeated or unnecessary  activities to the services. As a result, consulting organizations  were paid amounts in excess of those agreed. In addition, no measures  were taken to comply with the composition and quality of the norms  and standards of building materials, in particular, cement, as well  as to exercise daily control over the implementation of work. As a  result, despite the changes in the development document, as well as  registered obvious shortcomings in construction work and concrete  pavement, sections of the Yerevan-Artashat and Yerevan-Ashtarak  Tranche 1 highways were commissioned. ArmInfo also reported that on  the segment of the North-South transport corridor - Yerevan-  Artashat, which was commissioned at the end of 2015, pits formed, and  cracks formed in a number of areas. Meanwhile, according to the  actual estimate of $ 2 million per 1 km the road was supposed to be  magnificent.  Work on this section was carried out by the Spanish   company Corsan Corviam. The loan agreement for tranche-1 of the  North-South Road Program was signed on October 12, 2009. The tranche  price is $ 70.4 million - including taxes. According to current  estimates, the construction of the entire 556-km North-South highway,  which stretches from Bavra to Meghri, will cost more than $ 2  billion, since its only southern section, between the cities of  Artashat and Meghri, will cost $ 1.5 billion according to preliminary  estimates. Meanwhile, in September 2012, when the construction of the  highway began, the amount called by the representatives of the  Armenian government was more than half of that - $ 962 million.