ArmInfo. The Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has identified the main corruption mechanisms in the implementation of road construction programs.
According to the press service of the department, over 9 months of this year, 12 criminal cases have been opened on the facts of crimes in this area. In total, 14 people were brought in as defendants, of which 5 are on the wanted list. At the same time, the arrest was chosen as a preventive measure against 8 persons. Over the same period last year, 6 criminal cases were instituted for similar crimes, and only one person received the status of the accused.
According to preliminary data, the amount of damage caused to the state for 2018-2019 amounted to about 23.6 billion drams, for communities - 18 million drams. Of this amount, a total of 227 million drams of damage was repaired. In some cases, on the part of the companies that carried out the construction work, work is carried out to eliminate the identified violations. Of the 18 criminal cases instituted in the aforementioned period, 9 relate to the construction of the North-South Road, and some high-ranking government officials were involved in criminal schemes. During the investigation, it was possible to establish the most common criminal schemes in the implementation of road construction programs. This, in particular, the preparation of fake acts on the performance of work and false documentation regarding the volume of work and services provided, which helped either significantly reduce the tax burden, or to avoid paying taxes. In addition, facts were revealed that the work performed did not meet existing standards. In addition, in the case of the North-South program, the head of the charitable foundation used his direct influence to conclude agreements with companies that were directly related to it. Within the framework of the criminal cases, work is underway to identify all persons involved in these crimes.