Chairman of the Urban Development Committee of Armenia Vahagn Vermishyan has been detained on the suspicion of receiving a bribe in a particularly large amount, as reported the news service of the National Security Service of Armenia.

Through operational intelligence measures and investigative actions, the National Security Service obtained factual data according to which the chairman of the Urban Development Committee of Armenia, acting as an official, using his official position contrary to the interests of service and due to personal interest, in accordance with the agreements reached with persons involved in construction or representatives of construction firms, personally, as well as through a close person, throughout 2019, in five cases, performed actions for them in exchange of a bribe in large amount and particularly large amount or in the form of commodities and materials.

In addition, during a meeting held in his office on October 23, 2019, the chairman of the Urban Development Committee of Armenia reached an agreement to nominate the owner of several construction firms for the title “Merited Builder of Armenia” and received the equivalent of $5,000 in Armenian drams and construction materials worth nearly AMD 2,300,000 as a bribe.

Within the scope of the criminal case instituted by the Investigation Department of the National Security Service in relation to the cases of prima facie crime under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia, the persons having committed the alleged crime have been apprehended, two of them, including the mentioned Committee chairman, have been detained; moreover, while being interviewed as a suspect, the official having received the bribe confessed to the crime. The preliminary investigation continues.