According to the preliminary investigation carried out by the criminal proceedings initiated by the RA Anti-Corruption Committee, sufficient facts were obtained that the former Deputy Mayor of Yerevan, Vahe Nikoyan, abused his official position during his tenure, as a result of which “SANITEK” LLC which was responsible for the garbage removal works and sanitary cleaning services that were not actually performed in the capital for years “SANITEK” LLC as well as to its affiliated companies were unjustifiably paid more than 3 billion AMD.
It should be noted that Vahe Nikoyan hold the post of Deputy Mayor of Yerevan from 20 January, 2012 to 29 October, 2018.
In particular, it was found that at the same time carrying out the functions of the Chairman of the Commissions of the tenders organized for the purpose of acquiring garbage collection and sanitation services in the capital city, evaluated the applications of the participating companies as satisfactory despite the fact that they did not meet the qualification criteria. Further, within the framework of the contracts signed with the winner “SANITECH” LLC, as well as with its affiliated companies, he did not monitor the full scope and proper implementation of services and approved requests to transfer money for services not provided.
The investigation also revealed that after signing the contracts with the above-mentioned companies in 2015 and 2016, Lease agreements were signed between “Sanitech International” LLC and Yerevan Deputy Mayor V.N.’s father on providing for rent the three premises in Yerevan which belong to the latter, for the sum in Armenian drams equivalent of 1000-6000 USD per month.
Due to the mentioned circumstance, V. N., based on material and group interests, using his official position, did not perform official duties and did not supervise the implementation of works by the mentioned companies. As a result, sufficient number and size of vehicles and garbage bins were not planned for providing garbage collection and sanitary cleaning services, and the existing garbage trucks were overloaded, which over time led to a decline in the quality of garbage collection and sanitary cleaning services.
V.N. approved the requests to transfer the amounts to be paid in return, based on which the amount of all the services provided by the contracts was transferred to the mentioned companies.
In other words, a total of AMD 3,002,486,270 was unjustifiably paid to the mentioned companies for services which were not provided.
Considering that there are facts proving the commission of the crime, the investigator of the RA Anti-Corruption Committee conducting the proceedings on 6 December, 2022, submitted a motion to the supervising prosecutor to initiate a public criminal prosecution against V.N., under Article 308, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code, which was in effect at the time of committing the act.
The petition was met, and the investigator decided to detain the defendant V.N., who was in liberty, in order to bring him to trial, for the purpose to choose detention as a measure of restraint.
The investigation is in process.
Note: A person suspected or accused of an alleged crime is considered innocent until his/her guilt is proved by a court judgment that has come into legal effect pursuant to the procedure determined by RA Criminal Procedure Code.
