Agazaryan’s case reaches court
The case of National Assembly (NA) deputy Hovik Agazaryan is in court; the charges brought against him relate to accepting a bribe and demanding unlawful remuneration.
The Investigative Committee had previously reported that in 2023, Ashotik Kamavosyan, through his acquaintance Slavik Poghosyan, had approached Deputy Hovik Agazaryan regarding organizing the process of exporting 150-200 thousand heads of farm animals to the United Arab Emirates outside of the procedures established by law. To organize the process, Agazaryan had demanded 200 thousand US dollars, of which 100 thousand was required as an initial payment.
During a meeting on August 10, 2023, Ashotik Kamavosyan offered the deputy 20 thousand dollars, promising to pay the remaining amount upon the export of each batch of animals, but Agazaryan refused, insisting that he had already reached an agreement with other officials. The deal was not finalized.
In this episode, Slavik Poghosyan and Ashotik Kamavosyan were sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison, but the sentence was not applied; a three-year probation period was set. The verdict has entered into force.
A second episode was also uncovered during the preliminary investigation. According to the indictment, Aram Mkrtchyan, the founder-president of one of the companies, gave Agazaryan a total of 23 thousand US dollars and 300 thousand drams in several installments as a bribe in 2021. Mkrtchyan, it is noted, had approached the deputy for assistance in the process of reconstructing the dilapidated building of Yerevan’s Henry Morgenthau School, transferring the other section to the company, and obtaining permission to construct a multi-apartment building. In 2023, Agazaryan addressed the Urban Development Committee with a letter, presenting the company’s proposal and the necessary documents.
If the charges are confirmed, Agazaryan faces up to 10 years in prison for demanding unlawful remuneration, and up to 12 years for accepting a bribe.