According to the criminal proceedings initiated on the basis of the measures carried out by the operational-investigative department of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Republic of Armenia, it was established that officials of the Food Safety Inspection Body of the Republic of Armenia (FSIB) received a bribe as part of a group for not recording violations identified during the export of animals, and committed official forgery. The preliminary investigation of the criminal proceedings also revealed other corruption-related crimes, including cases of receiving an illegal reward in the amount of USD 8,000.

In particular, it was established that U. J. initiated the process of exporting cattle in September-October 2024, which, however, had significant shortcomings. Thus, in the application submitted to the competent state body for the initiation and control of the 21-day quarantine of animals before export, 580 animals were indicated as the number of animals to be exported, but in fact 345 animals were quarantined. With this, there was no veterinary certificate Form 1 for the movement of animals for 50 animals at the quarantine point.

The chief inspectors of the RA Food Safety Inspection Body Sh. S. and V. G. revealed the above violations during one of their visits to the relevant quarantine point in October 2024, however, for not recording them, received a bribe from U. J. in a group in the amount of AMD 190,000. Moreover, V. G. prepared a forged certificate stating that there were 574 animals in the quarantine point and that there was the Form 1 certificate. The said forged certificate was put into official circulation, and on its basis, the export of the batch of animals was permitted.

Later, in order to obtain a forged certificate and the Form 1 veterinary certificate on the existence of the missing livestock, U. J. contacted the veterinarian of Armavir municipality A. D., who, in order to obtain funds under the pretext of assisting in giving a bribe, informed U. J. that he had allegedly agreed with an official of the local administration body of Armavir region to provide the required forged documents in exchange for a bribe in the amount of AMD 50,000. U. J. accepted the offer, after which A. D. addressed his son, veterinarian G. D., to issue the Form 1 certificate. A. D. handed over the forged document prepared by his son to U. J. and received from him the requested AMD 50,000, which he did not transfer to any official, but disposed of personally.

In addition, the preliminary investigation also established that in order to avoid possible obstacles in the export process, U. J. addressed his acquaintance L. S., who expressed his willingness to ensure the issuance of export permits by the FSIB in exchange for an illegal reward of USD 8,000. As a result, with the active assistance of L. S., U. J. managed to export a batch of animals on October 18, 2024, and on the same day he transferred the requested amount of illegal reward to L. S.

For the above-mentioned criminal acts, 6 persons were charged under the relevant Articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia: inspectors of the FSIB V. G., Sh. S., veterinarians A. D., G. D., as well as U. J. and L. S.

The preliminary investigation of the criminal proceedings has been completed. The prosecutor approved the indictment, and the materials of the proceedings have been sent to the court for consideration on the merits.

Notification. the person accused of a crime is considered innocent until his guilt is proven in accordance with the procedure established by the RA Criminal Procedure Code by a verdict entered into legal force.