Competent officials of the customs service of the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia, using their official position against the interests of the service, being obliged, in accordance with the procedure established by the RA Law “On the Ban of the Import of Vehicles with Right Hand Drive” adopted on 1 March, 2018, to prohibit from 1 April, 2018 the import of vehicles with right-hand drive into the territory of the Republic of Armenia under the customs procedure "Release for Domestic Consumption", as well as prohibit their import for the purpose of release for free circulation of vehicles for personal use of individuals, without the presence of circumstances  provided for by the same law as an exception, for mercenary motives, allowed the import of cars with right-hand drive system to the territory of the Republic of Armenia, after which in 2020, customs clearance and release of cars on the territory the Republic of Armenia.

At the same time, the documents filled out by the same officials for customs clearance included apparent false information about the location of the steering system, instead of actually right-hand steering indicating left-hand steering. As a result of such actions, the authority and reputation of the state body-the customs service of the State Revenue Committee of the Republic of Armenia were undermined, the principle of equality of citizens who imported vehicles and were deprived of the possibility of customs clearance provided for by the law was violated, significant damage was caused to the rights and legitimate interests of the society and state.

In addition to the above, during the preparation of the materials, factual data were also obtained that the competent officials of the registration and examination departments of the RA Police, being authorized in the manner described by the RA Government decree N-1251-N of September 9, 2010, register vehicles by means of a conveyor line "inspection station- place of payment -service hall- hall of printing and provision of documents", among other things, being obliged according to the same procedure to inspect vehicles presented by citizens to the registration and examination department, to compare their real data with those indicated in data documents, during 2019-2020, periodically, in order to register right-hand drive vehicles imported by citizens into the territory of the RA, as vehicles with left-hand drive vehicles, for registering with the traffic police the right of ownership to them and further for the possibility of unhindered disposal, possession of them and their use on the territory RA, both personally and through intermediaries, with a single intent, for the performance or non-performance by the official within the framework of his authority of any action in favor of the person giving the bribe or the person represented by him, in exchange for the amounts received as a bribe in especially large amounts for registration of each car in violation of the procedure established by law, without actually checking the documents for the car and inspecting the location of the steering wheel of the car, being firmly convinced of the presence of right-hand steering in cars, deliberately false information about the actual presence of left-hand steering in cars and on their basis issued license plates for temporary registration was included in the drawn up protocols and others documents serving as the basis for registration.

In connection with the incident a criminal case was initiated in the Investigation Department of the RA NSS on the grounds of the elements of crime envisaged by Article 308, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code, Article 311, Part 3, Clause 3 of the RA Criminal Code, Article 38-311, Part 3, Clause 3 of the RA Criminal Code, Article 312, Part 2 of the RA Criminal Code, Article 314, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code; preliminary investigation is being conducted.

Criminal procedure and operative-search measures are being taken to find out the identities of other officials and citizens involved in the corruption scheme, to give a criminal-legal assessment to their acts.

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.