Environment official accused of malpractice

ArmInfo.The head of the department for permission to use water of the Agency for Water Resources Management of the Ministry of the Environment of Armenia  was charged in the framework of the criminal case on abuses in the  Ministry of Environment.

According to the information received by ArmInfo from the IC of the  RA, during the investigations, the information was received that the  head of the department for permission to use water, together with a  group of other officials of the Ministry, including then Minister of  the Environment Aram Harutyunyan, had abused his official position,  violation of the relevant legal acts by issuing a permit to one of  the hydroelectric power plants operating in the territory of the  Republic of Armenia When summing up the evidence, the head of the  aforementioned department was charged in part 2 of article 308 of the  RA Criminal Code (abuse of power). The preliminary investigation is  completed, the case with the indictment was sent to the prosecutor's  office for approval and referral to the court.

The IC also reminded that, as previously reported, in the framework  of the above criminal case, it was decided to separate a part on  abuse of official powers by the former Minister of Nature Protection  of the Republic of Armenia Aram Harutyunyan and send him to the  Special Investigation Service.  It should be noted that the  ex-Minister of Nature Protection of Armenia Aram Harutyunyan is  accused of receiving bribes on an especially large scale and abuse of  official positions. He was declared a rose in IC and arrested in  absentia.

According to the RA Investigative Committee, Harutyunyan is charged  under paragraph 4 of Part 2 of Art.  311 (the receipt by the official  of a bribe on an especially large scale for knowingly unlawful action  or inaction in favor of the bribe giver or the person he represents)  and paragraph 1 of paragraph 3 of Art. 190 (legalization of income in  especially large amounts obtained illegally) of the Criminal Code of  Armenia.  According to the prosecution, Harutyunyan received a bribe  from a businessman in the amount of US $ 14 million for granting a  mine exploitation license: 6 million were transferred through  ex-minister's relatives in cash, and 8 million were transferred to  different accounts in the UAE. After that, Harutyunyan transferred  the money to a Swiss bank and began to transfer them little by little  to the account of a company that belongs to a person close to him and  conducts entrepreneurial activities in Armenia. Recall that the  testimony against Harutyunyan was given by the infamous businesswoman  Silva Hambartsumyan, who admitted to bribing other high-ranking  officials.