In our previous publication, we focused on investigators’ undeclared real estate and personal property. This time, we investigated the gifts they received and property they acquired. Officials are obliged to declare any donations they receive, including property, funds, jewelry, and artwork. By law, gifted property is subject to declaration if the value exceeds 8 million drams. Until 2019, officials only had to report the donation subject in their tax returns, but now it is mandatory to list the donor’s name and value of the gift. Our investigation shows that many investigators at the Investigative Committee receive gifts both in the form of property and funds. For example, Kamo Sharoyan, Head of the Shengavit Administrative District’s Investigation Department, was gifted an apartment in March 2019. In his 2019 tax return, he is listed as the sole owner of this apartment located in Malatia-Sebastia, Yerevan.

The Head of the Shengavit Administrative District’s Investigation Department did not provide any other details in his tax return about the donation and the donor. In response to our inquiry, Kamo Sharoyan clarified that the apartment he was gifted had belonged to his grandmother since 1995 and that after her death it was inherited by his mother, who then gave it to him in March 2019. The Corruption Prevention Commission is investigating the circumstances around the donated apartment, and the Commission’s findings from this investigation will be presented at a later time. Karapet Hambardzumyan, Senior investigator of Special Cases at the General Investigation Department and Electoral Crimes Investigation Department, declared $16,500 in donations in his 2019 tax return. The tax return stated that the investigator received that donation from Arman Muradyan.

“My 2019 tax return shows who gave me the $16,500 donation and provides their personal information and address [the address is redacted and only available to the RA Corruption Prevention Commission]. I am not required by the above-mentioned or any other normative legal acts to disclose the nature and purpose of the donation, thus I’m also not required to disclose it to you,” said the investigar in response to our inquiry, describing the government’s 2011 legal provisions. The Corruption Prevention Commission confirmed that a preliminary investigation showed that a $16,500 donation was listed in Karapet Hambardzumyan’s tax return and stated that the Commission will present its findings at a later time.

Karen Karapetyan, Senior Investigator at the Aragatsotn Regional Investigation Department, received a Toyota Camry 2.4 in August 2019. In response to our inquiry, Karen Karapetyan refused to explain who donated the car. 

“I filled out my 2019 tax return in accordance with the requirements set by the Corruption Prevention Commission. My 2019 tax return is available for you to see on the official Corruption Prevention Commission website,” stated Karen Karapetyan. The Corruption Prevention Commission informed us that the preliminary investigation of Karen Karapetyan’s 2019 tax return confirms that he was gifted a vehicle. The Commission will present its findings at a later time. Gagik Hambardzumyan, Senior Investigator at the Investigation Department’s Kanaker-Zeytun Administrative District, received a donation of 4,500,000 drams and $9,000 dollars in 2019. The investigator noted in his 2019 tax return that he received the donations from Sos Hambardzumyan.

“I don’t think there has to be a purpose or reason for a parent to give their child any kind of gift, be it financial, real estate, and/or personal property,” explained Gagik Hambardzumyan. He was also gifted funds in 2018. In 2018 alone, Gagik Hambardzumyan received 17 donations in several different currencies, including 15 million drams, $10,000, and €20,000 euros. The investigator asserts that he received this money from his father.

However, Sos Hambardzumyan did not declare any income or funds in his 2017 tax returns as a senior investigator and citizen. We asked Gagik Hambardzumyan to clarify what funds were received by Sos Hambardzumyan. He stated, “My father is engaged in business in Russia and gifted that money to me.” As of 2019, Gagik Hambardzumyan, Senior Investigator at the Investigation Department’s Kanaker-Zeytun Administrative District, does not have any real estate or personal property but does have significant funds: 25 million drams and $29,000. The Corruption Prevention Commission notes inconsistencies in Gagik Hambardzumyan’s 2018 and 2019 tax returns and will present these findings at a later time. Arthur Khachatryan, Investigator at the Investigative Committee’s Fourth Garrison Investigation Division of the Military Investigation Department, received a donation of 660,000 Russian rubles in 2019, which he declared in his 2019 tax return.

His tax return shows that he received that donation from Kamo Oleyan. Artur Khachatryan also received funds in 2018. His tax return shows a donation of 70,000 rubles. Arthur Khachatryan received another donation of 400,000 rubles while assuming the position of Senior Investigator of the Investigative Committee’s Aragatsotn Regional Investigation Department.

“The money declared in my tax return was gifted to me by my wife’s father, Kamo Oleyan, who lives in Moscow, Russia,” explained Artur Khachatryan. It turns out that investigator Artur Khachatryan was gifted 1,130,000 rubles by his father-in-law in 2018-2019. In response to our inquiry, the Corruption Prevention Commission confirmed that its investigation shows the donation and that they will present their findings at a later time. 

Investigators buy property without sufficient funds

We compared the funds and income declared by investigators with the value of the property they acquired. For example, some officials at the Investigative Committee bought apartments and cars in 2019 but did not have the financial means to buy them. In this case, how did they buy property without sufficient funds? Vahe Kakoyan, Investigator at the Investigation Committee’s Kotayk Regional Investigation Department, bought an apartment and car in 2019 but did not take out a loan to make those purchases. Moreover, his finances remained the same. 

More specifically, Vahe Kakoyan bought an apartment in Hrazdan worth 7,360,050 drams in March 2019 and a Mercedes-Benz worth $5,000 in July 2019. Despite making these purchases, his finances have actually increased: At the beginning of the year, he had 1.5 million drams, and by the end of the year he had declared 2.5 million drams.  

We asked investigator Vahe Kakoyan how he made such large purchases. He explained, “I declared the real estate and personal property I acquired, which was acquired using a different account that was provided to me free-of-charge by my relatives living abroad, as shown by my 2019 tax return.” The investigator’s explanation is unclear, since his 2019 tax return shows that he didn’t receive any donations. The Corruption Prevention Commission stated that the change in property was not substantiated by the declared income in 2019 but that the results of their final investigation will be presented at a later time. Ashot Khachatryan, Senior Investigator of the Kotayk Regional Investigation Department, bought an apartment in Hrazdan, Kotayk in 2019 when he didn’t have sufficient financial means and income that year. His 2019 tax return shows that the apartment is worth 6.2 million drams.

Investigator Ashot Khachatryan, without having the financial means and income, clarifies that he used credit to buy an apartment. In response to our inquiry, he stated, "In 2019, I received the equivalent of $13,00–about 6,200,000 drams–from Converse Bank’s program ‘Apartment for Young Families’ to buy an apartment in Hrazdan. Under the same program, I took out 2,200,000 drams in credit from the same bank to carry out renovation, which is why I put down 8,400,000 drams in section B4 of my tax return.” The Corruption Prevention Commission is currently investigating Ashot Khachatryan's tax returns. Their preliminary findings confirm that the change of property in 2019 is not substantiated by his declared income that year. The Commission’s complete findings will be presented at a later time. Tehmina Sargsyan, Senior Investigator at the Investigation Department’s City Center and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts, bought a Toyota worth 5 million drams in October 2019. However, the investigator did not have the financial means, according to her tax return.

Tehmina Sargsyan’s annual income in 2019 was stated in her tax return as 3,509,539 drams, the salary she received from the Investigative Committee.

We asked Tehmina Sargsyan to explain how she bought a Toyota worth five million drams when she didn’t have the financial means. However, the senior investigator refused to give an explanation, directing us to the Corruption Prevention Commission. “I submitted my 2019 tax return to the Corruption Prevention Commission as a civil servant in accordance with the Law on Public Service, which included information about the Toyota I acquired. Therefore, you can apply to the Corruption Prevention Service to obtain information that answers your inquiry,” noted senior investigator Tehmina Sargsyan in a letter sent to us. It is unclear why she directed us to the Corruption Prevention Commission, since the Commission publishes the income and financial means of officials as indicated on their tax returns. Tehmina Sargsyan should have explained where she got the money to buy a Toyota worth 5 million drams. In response to our inquiry, the Corruption Prevention Commission confirmed that there were inconsistencies in Tehmina Sargsyan’s tax return, which the Commission will present at a later time. Grigor Tamoyan, Special Case Investigator at the Investigative Committee’s Fourth Garrison Investigation Division of the Military Investigation Department, bought a car worth 4 million drams in 2019 though he did not have the financial means.

More specifically, the investigator bought a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 on April 3, 2019. Meanwhile, it is clear from his 2019 tax return that he didn’t have the money in cash or in a bank account that year. In response to our inquiry, the investigator stated that he bought a Mercedes-Benz C300 worth 4 million drams after verbally agreeing with the seller on an installment payment. There are inconsistencies in the investigator’s tax return, according to the Corruption Prevention Commission, which the Commission will present shortly. Varuzhan Hoktanyan, an expert at the Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center, considers the process of having officials declare income and property to be very important. According to him, the declaration of property and income contributes to the reduction of corruption. As compared to the experience of other countries, the expert considers the tax return form used in Armenia as quite transparent, but he believes it is even more important to check the authenticity of the declared tax returns. He asserts that, in parallel with adding to the requirements of declarations, we must also consider whether we have the resources to review all the data. “No matter how much journalists and non-governmental organizations work to check the accuracy of the declarations, they don’t have the tools to do so; reviewing such data requires rather serious technical know-how,” he noted. The specialist states that the database of tax returns should be connected with other databases like the state register, the State Revenue Committee, and others in order to be able to check the authenticity and conduct a complete review. It’s not possible for an NGO or journalist to do that. MP Heriknaz Tigranyan states that they are imposing stricter requirements for declarations to make the system more transparent. She believes that, while the current system is extensive in content, information on why donations were given to officials and expenses incurred should be shared in order to be more transparent. In a conversation with us, the MP emphasized, “I think that the section on declarations can be even more simplified. The Commission is constantly working on this, and we see that it simplifies the declaration process.” Heriknaz Tigranyan does not rule out that legislative changes around declarations will be introduced. Two reports were submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office regarding officials who allegedly submitted false information or concealed declarations in their 2019 tax returns. A criminal case was initiated in one case, in which a particularly large property or income was not declared, while materials are being prepared for the other case. In addition, prosecutors have filed two criminal cases against 3 officials in 2020 after they allegedly presented false information or concealed information about particularly large properties or income that should have been declared in their 2019 tax returns. One criminal case was initiated against an official after a person reported that allegedly false information was presented or particularly large properties or income were not declared in the 2019 tax return. The Prosecutor's Office, however, does not disclose criminal cases that have been initiated against employees of state bodies.

Authors: Mkrtich Khachatryan, Alla Panosyan, Angin Movsisyan 

Coordinator: Diana Ghazaryan