Lawyers: We learned about criminal case against Artyom Khachatryan  from the media

ArmInfo. The team of lawyers  issued a statement regarding the investigation of the criminal case  against the former head of the State Revenue Committee Gagik  Khachatryan's son Artyom Khachatryan.

According to the statement of the lawyers, they learned about the  opening of a case against him under four articles of the Criminal  Code of the Republic of Armenia from the media, as well as about the  use an arrest as a measure of restraint and putting him on wanted  list. <Neither before the involvement of the accused and his  announcement on the wanted list, nor after that we were informed  about this, and this in the case that in a specific criminal case  being investigated in the investigation department of the National  Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, members of the  investigation group searched Khachatryan, including Artyom  Khachatryan's  residences almost daily. Even during the searches, a  notice was never sent to call Artyom Khachatryan to the investigating  authority, however the investigating authority put Artyom Khachatryan  on the wanted list without any reason>, the lawyers say.   To recall, Artyom Khachatryan was charged as an accused for  appropriation on an especially large scale, receiving a bribe on an  especially large  scale, for laundering money on an especially large  scale and  facilitating the abuse of power (clause 38 (1) 1 of the  article  38-179, clause 3 of the article 190 (two episode), part 2 of  article  38-308 and article 38-311).  By a court decision, a  preventive  measure in the form of arrest was chosen in his regard,  he was put on  the wanted list.

To note, Gagik Khachatryan's other son - Gurgen Khachatryan, who is   the co-founder of the Galaxy group of companies and the chairman of   the board of directors of the Ucom major telecommunications company,   is accused of aiding in transferring a bribe and for acts of   corruption. He is wanted and arrested in absentia.  Earlier, it was   reported that numerous searches were conducted by the National   Security Service in the offices and apartments of the Khachatryan   family, as well as in the office of the newly appointed director of   Ucom, Ara Khachatryan. 

To note the final beneficiary of Ucom is the family of the former  super-minister - Minister of Finance and SRC Gagik Khachatryan.   Today, Gagik Khachatryan as well as his sons and nephew (the owners   of Galaxy) are accused of embezzlement on a particularly large scale   and abuse of office. Gagik Khachatryan has been charged under part 2   of article 308 of the RA Criminal Code (misappropriation or   embezzlement of funds on an especially large scale) and part 2 of   article 308 of the RA Criminal Code (abuse of official authority   entailing grave consequences through negligence).

Khachatryan, being a government official all his life, became one of   the richest people in the country. Ucom enjoyed enormous informal   privileges before the Velvet Revolution and, for all its years,   despite operating profit, worked with huge balance sheet losses and,   as a result, did not pay income taxes.