Charges brought against customs officials
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The RA Anti-Corruption Committee, based on a report received from the RA State Revenue Committee (SRC), established that on December 10, 2025, the head of the Customs Service and Control Department, his deputy, and a customs inspector of the same department, with the aim of concealing the presence of cargo subject to customs duties in the amount of 11,372,640 drams in a truck entering the Republic of Armenia through the Agarak customs checkpoint, with the assistance of an authorized representative of said cargo, instructed the truck driver to pass the X-ray checkpoint.
Then, again on the instructions of the aforementioned department head, a customs inspector from the same department, violating the procedure for using customs identification devices, failed to apply a security measure to the truck in question after completing the weighing. Following this, the deputy department head, in accordance with a prior agreement with the department head, took the security measure removed by the customs inspector and installed it on the truck without properly securing it, allowing for easy removal. The vehicle, accompanied by the deputy department head and the business entity, then left the checkpoint area.
After leaving the checkpoint area, on the instructions of the deputy department head, the truck was stopped, the aforementioned cargo was unloaded, after which the deputy department head applied the security measure and photographed it. As a result of abuse of office by State Revenue Committee officials to the detriment of state and official interests, cargo belonging to a business entity failed customs control, and the company's director concealed taxable cargo to avoid customs duties, causing the state particularly significant damage in the amount of 11,372,640 drams.
For the aforementioned criminal acts, the department head, his deputy, and the customs inspector of the same department were held liable under Article 441, Part 2, Clauses 2 and 4, and Article 46-290, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code. The authorized representative of the cargo who assisted them was held liable under Article 46-441, Part 2, Clauses 2 and 4 of the RA Criminal Code. The latter, along with the department's head and deputy head, were arrested, and the customs inspector was given a travel ban, bail of 5 million drams, and suspension from office.
The preliminary investigation into the criminal case has been completed, and the case materials have been sent to the Anti-Corruption Court of the Republic of Armenia along with the indictment.