The RA Prosecutor General's Office summed up the criminal cases on corruption-related crimes registered in the field of social security, in particular, in the process of allocating and paying benefits and pensions in the period from January 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019.
It was established that the competent authorities of the Republic of Armenia have initiated 166 criminal cases on the facts of corruption abuses registered in the areas of social security, in accordance with Articles 179, 178, 3111 and 3121 of the RA Criminal Code. 151 of them have been related to cases of social benefits and disability benefits, 6 cases were related to pensions, and another 9 cases were related to corruption in the field of medical and social expertise.
These crimes were carried out both in the regions of the country and in Yerevan. Moreover, examining the facts of these criminal cases, it was found that criminal acts in the field of disability benefits were coordinated and schematic.
Hundreds of citizens without their knowledge were included in the list of beneficiaries of social benefits, meanwhile, the amount allocated to them by the state was plundered by various officials. These crimes were mainly committed against the most vulnerable groups, in particular, against families in which there are people with disabilities, and those who are in a difficult financial situation.
The inspections also showed that, as a rule, the heads of regional departments of social services, junior, senior and leading specialists from various agencies, employees of Haypost, employees of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, etc. were involved in the corruption scheme.
According to the revealed crimes, criminal cases have been initiated against 249 people. During this period, 12 criminal cases with accusation against 41 people were sent to the court, of which 33 have already been convicted. The damage inflicted on the State on the above crimes has been amounted to 772.5 million drams, of which about 139 million drams have been reimbursed.
