During 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, the Department of State Interests Protection of the RA Prosecutor General's Office, as well as different territorial subdivisions of the Prosecutor's Office have conducted numerous studies including the documents received from competent law enforcement bodies on the protection and lease of state-owned property, as well as the privatization procedures organized before, the state of compliance with legislation. In the result numerous cases of criminal corruption scheme were identified in this sphere.

 

In particular, the officials of the RA State Property Management Department, violating the requirements of Article 9, Part 2 of the RA Law on Real Estate Appraisal Activities, in many cases without a legal basis and without concluding a contract, in 2016 offered "N" LLC evaluate many state-owned properties.

 

Based on the mentioned proposals, the LLC evaluated these properties, and the appraisals presented were ground for alienation.

 

Later, the market appraisals ​​were analyzed as of the evaluation and alienation period, in the result of which it was found that their market value was several times higher than the initial estimated value at the mentioned period.

 

In the procedure of real estate appraisal by that LLC the requirements of the appraisal standards were violated. In particular, as a rule, the evaluation conclusions were made without the signature of the evaluating specialist and the head of the executive body of the company conducting the evaluation which is a mandatory requirement. In some cases, the conclusion was drawn up without an on-site inspection, and the market value of the property was determined on the basis of incorrect, incomparable initial data. In some cases, the purpose of the property, the area, and other features were not taken into account.

 

The conclusions, including such false data, have resulted the real value of state-owned property to be reduced 2-3 times. As a result, they were used by the relevant authorities as a basis for the tender of alienation of the mentioned real estates and were alienated several times less than the possible market value. In addition, in some cases, when the real value of the property exceeded 50 million drams, such reductions made false grounds to bypass the Decision N 882-N of the RA Government adopted on 13 June 2003 which stipulates that in such a case the real estate must be alienated on the basis of a decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia. Consequently, the property was alienated on the basis of an order of the Head of the Department of State Property Management under the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

 

In the result of the examinations and the criminal proceedings of the first quarter of 2019 and 2020 totally 27 criminal cases have been filed in connection with criminal investigations, property protection and leases, mainly on the basis of criminal misconduct by officials of relevant state authorities.

 

Whereas the criminal cases are at various stages of the investigation, legal proceedings have already been instituted by the prosecutor's office and investigative bodies to return the property criminally alienated to the real owners - to the state or the communities.

 

In particular, in the result of the circumstances established in one criminal case, the RA Prosecutor's Office filed 3 lawsuits to the Court of First Instance of Kotayk Region of the Republic of Armenia, demanding 25 auctions of land plots in Tsaghkadzor with a total protected area of ​​47.5 hectares and the agreements concluded, as well as the state registrations as invalid. The lawsuits were accepted for proceedings and the court, with the mediation of the prosecutor's office, as a means of providing the lawsuit, has forbidden any action of changing the factual or legal status of the land plots subject of the dispute.

 

Besides, in the result of the circumstances identified in another case, a lawsuit was filed by the RA Prosecutor's Office to the RA Administrative Court in order to repeal the administrative acts adopted by the Mayor of Yerevan City in 2008 as well as the agreements concluded on the basis of them, to declare the state registrations invalid. It is expected to return to the state the 10000 sq. m. plot of land in the green areas of public importance - a part of the plot of land of “Haghtanak” Park which currently belongs to “Golden Palace” Hotel” LLC.

 

Reports were submitted in regard with 3 cases to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the RA. In particular, the preliminary investigation body addressed a letter to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the RA, in regard with a criminal case which was initiated by the Prosecutor’s office and terminated on the basis of the statute of limitations, proposing to recognize invalid the transactions of illegal alienation of the real estate with 50.48 hectares belonging to Hrazdan community and return the property units to the balance of the communities.

 

Another report was presented to the Minister regarding the criminal case against Manvel Grigoryan, being investigated in the RA Special Investigative Service related with 40 transactions made by the heads of number of communities, who have illegally alienated or leased the property belonging the community, proposing to recognize them invalid and return the property units to the balance of the communities.

 

Based on the circumstances established in the criminal case, in the third case, the Minister was offered to file a lawsuit regarding Jradzor canal with 0.1968 hectares of land required for its utility and maintenance, Amasia canal with 1.38 hectares of land required for its utility and maintenance, 7060 sq. m. meters of tunnel, as well as the structures serving the canals, which are not subject to alienation, in order to cancel the transactions concluded with the company and to return the property units to the state.