Twenty forestry service employees responsible for monitoring tforested tracts in Armenia’s Dilijan National Park have been charged with fraud, abuse of power and overall dereliction of duties, resulting in the illegal felling of trees amounting to AMD 1.6 billion (US$3.4 million) in damage.

Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office says that a criminal case of “illegal tree and bush cutting” (Criminal Code, Article 296) has been launched.