The National Security Service of RA, being faithful to the principle of eliminating various manifestations of corruption, as a result of operational and search measures and investigative activities undertaken within the functions vested upon it by the law and aimed at countering corruption, received factual information on another apparent case of receiving a bribe by the officials of the Medical and Social Expert Agency of the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. 

According to the received data, the chairperson of Gegharkunik Marz’s N2 Medical and Social Expert Committee of the Medical and Social Expert Agency of the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, ex officio being entrusted with organizational and management authorities while carrying out an expertise, having reached a prior agreement with other members of the same committee and medical statistician, in order to make favorable decisions –i.e. confirming the duration of disability, changing the disability group- for the citizens who applied to the agency, regularly demanded and received from them various amounts of money as a bribe and gave a share from that money to the members of the committee with whom the criminal agreement had been reached.

Within the framework of the criminal case, which was initiated in the Investigation Department of the RA NSS according to the corresponding articles of the Criminal Code of RA on the fact of apparent incidents of crime, 4 persons who had committed an alleged crime were caught while once again receiving a bribe under the operational control of the officers of the operational subdivisions of the RA NSS. The bribe had been found during the conducted search, after which the mentioned individuals were brought in and detained. Due to the existence of irrefutable evidence, the official, chairperson of the committee, and his accomplices confessed having committed the crime.

Preliminary investigation goes on; relevant measures are being taken to detect other crime events committed by the group, as well as to detect and prosecute the persons involved in the criminal chain.

Note: The suspect or accused of an alleged crime is considered innocent as long as his/her guilt is not proven in a manner prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure of RA - by the court decision entered into legal force.