In the course of asphalt works provided by subvention programs in the administrative territories of 4 communities of Lori region, particularly large-scale abuses committed by the same scheme were found.
On 23 March, 2020 The Governor of Lori Region of the Republic of Armenia addressed a letter to the Prosecutor's Office of the Region stating that the contractors had done unqualified work during the asphalt works in the administrative territory of the Region, as well as for providing contradictory information on the expertise outcomes of asphalt concrete extracts tests by the companies.
They were sent to the subdivisions subordinate to the Lori Regional Department of the RA Police with the assignment to check the circumstances mentioned in the frame of criminal procedure.
In the result of materials obtained on the basis of factual details prepared in Taron, Tumanyan and Stepanavan Departments of the RA Police, it was found out that in July and September 2019 Vanadzor, Akhtala, Odzun and Stepanavan municipalities concluded state procurement contracts with 3 separate commercial companies for the needs of the municipalities.
In particular, the contractors have undertook responsibility to do main and partial repairing works, asphalt works of the streets of the communities with the envisaged size, means and deadlines with totally over 210 million drams for Vanadzor community, over 65 million drams for Odzun community, 49.500.000 drams for Akhtala community and 35 million drams for Stepanavan enlarged community.
Later, however, eligible entities of the contractor organizations used the same scheme, used their official position, aiming to fraudulently steal large sums of money, in the course of the above-mentioned works unqualified materials have been used, then they reached preliminary agreement with the employees of 2 organizations providing laboratory tests and certification services, false content protocols have been obtained on the extracts taken from asphalt and concrete cover. False information about approving the asphalt-concrete mix was included in them to meet the acting standards of the Republic of Armenia, i. e. the thickness of the asphalt-concrete samples, the weight of the extract, the average density and the condensed coefficients meeting the normative requirements.
Then they compiled executive acts and together with the false acts of the coat extraction asphalt concrete mix laboratory tests have been submitted to the municipalities.
In the result, by misleading the relevant officials of Vanadzor Municipality, a particularly large amount of about 30 million drams was transferred to the contractor organization for the actual unqualified work done on different streets, which fraudulently caused similar damage to the community.
But the cases related with other three communities were not successfully completed as dual tests sampling taken by the officers of “Hayavtochan” SNCO showed that the works have been done with poor quality and they have not met the RA standards and normative requirements. For this purpose the works were estimated as unsatisfactory, and the communities have not paid the contractors a part of the amount envisaged by the contract.
In connection with the facts of abuses, the Prosecutor's Office of Lori Region initiated three criminal cases under Article 178, Part 3, Point 1, Article 34-178, Part 3, Point 1, Article 34-178, Part 2, Points 1.1, 2, Article 325, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code, which have been sent for preliminary investigation to the Lori Regional Investigation Department of the RA Investigative Committee.
Besides, under the direct supervision of the Prosecutor's office of the Region, a criminal case was initiated on the basis of similar factual circumstances in the Spitak Division of the Lori Regional Department of the RA Police, which was also sent for preliminary investigation to the Investigative Department of the RA Investigative Committee.
Notice: Every person suspected in or charged with a criminal offense shall be presumed innocent unless proved guilty in the manner prescribed by the RA Criminal Procedure Code and unless the verdict comes into legal force.
