Former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan elected a preventive measure in the case of bribery

The Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia has filed corruption charges against former President Serzh Sargsyan. A preventive measure was chosen for him in the form of a recognizance not to leave the place, informs Public television of Armenia with reference to the press secretary of the department Mariam Ohanjanyan.

Sargsyan was also prosecuted for embezzlement of 500 million drams (more than $ 1 million) in 2013, when he was President of Armenia.

On November 22, Sargsyan’s lawyer Amram Makinyan announced that the ex-president was summoned for interrogation as an accused. “The whole comic of the situation is that after 3.5 years of studying the testimony of Silva (Ambartsumyan) today it was decided that she had also given a bribe to Serzh Sargsyan,” – wrote Makinyan on Facebook. According to him, earlier Sargsyan had already been interrogated in this case as a witness, and no new circumstances appeared in the case.

The criminal case was initiated upon the application of the entrepreneur Silva Hambardzumyan. Sargsyan’s predecessor in a high state post, the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharian, is also involved in the same case. writes “Novosti-Armenia”.

Hambardzumyan told investigators that in 2008 she gave bribes totaling $ 7 million. This money was transferred to people from Kocharyan’s entourage. The bribes were intended for Kocharyan himself, Serzh Sargsyan and Armen Gevorkyan (ex-head of the presidential administration of Armenia). According to Hambardzumyan, she tried to save her business from the claims of officials with bribes. Kocharyan accused the entrepreneur of libel and sued her.

In early April, a court in Yerevan terminated the criminal prosecution of Kocharian under the article “overthrowing the constitutional order.” However, the measure of restraint in the form of bail was not canceled and the amount of bail of more than $ 4 million remained unchanged.