ArmInfo.In the near future, claims on cases of illegal enrichment will be filed with the courts, Armenian Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan told journalists on April 30.
To the remark that rumors are also circulating that the Prosecutor General himself has a luxurious mansion, Davtyan said that there must be legally established grounds for initiation of proceedings on illegally acquired property. "Whether it is today, or tomorrow, or in 10 years, anyone can prove it," he said.
To recall, on April 15, 2020, the Armenian parliament in the second and final reading adopted a bill on the confiscation of illegally acquired property of citizens, the value of which exceeds $ 100 thousand. The law "On confiscation of property of illegal origin" against illegal enrichment has been supplemented with new clarifications, including on the basis of proposals from the opposition. In particular, the legislators decided to clarify, according to which the unaccounted property of only politicians and entrepreneurs will be considered, and not labor migrants (who often also work without an employment contract and cannot justify their income). At the same time, the burden of proving the illegality of the property lies with the state.
That is, it is not an official who must prove his innocence, but the state must prove his guilt. People who received property as alimony or compensation for damage to health, or if they are with mortgagees and creditors (that is, in banks) are exempt from the obligation to return property, regardless of its origin. The property, acquired up to 10 years prior to the inspection, can be subject to inspection. In exceptional cases, where there is strong evidence, the investigation may cover the period from 1991. Personal data on the property of suspects can only be obtained by a court decision.
In this case, the suspects can appeal against this decision. If property of a citizen with illegal income is confiscated, then he can still receive compensation for improvements in this area - but only on the condition that these improvements were carried out on legitimate income. A period of up to three years will be allotted to carry out inspections for each individual case. The basis for a claim may be certain actions or the status of a citizen, signals in criminal cases concerning, mainly, crimes of a corruption nature, participation in criminal gangs, illegal circulation of weapons and drugs, and trafficking. There will also be articles on the criminal subculture.