The Anti-Corruption Court, chaired by Judge Givi Hovhannisyan, held a hearing in the case of Serzh Sargsyan, the third president of the Republic of Armenia, and others, the so-called “Diesel Case.”
The prosecution requested Serzh Sargsyan’s interrogation.
When asked by the judge whether Serzh Sargsyan intended to testify during the main hearing, Sargsyan replied: “Depending on the situation, I can’t say. Generally, no, but I can’t say.”
Serzh Sargsyan’s lawyer, Amram Makinyan, reminded the court that the Yerevan Court of First Instance found and declared Sargsyan and the other participants not guilty. He also noted that he carefully reviewed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and did not find a single wording, letter, or comma that cast doubt on Sargsyan’s innocence.
“We believe this process should not be restarted,” the defense attorney noted.
As a reminder, three individuals are currently defendants in the criminal case. In addition to the third President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, charges have also been brought against Gevorg Harutyunyan and businessman Barsegh Beglaryan.
According to the charges brought against Serzh Sargsyan, “from April 9, 2008 to April 9, 2018, while holding the post of President of the Republic of Armenia and as an official permanently performing the functions of a government representative, he, using his official position, from January 25, 2013 to February 7 of that year, organized the theft of an especially large sum of 489,160,310 drams by a group of state employees through embezzlement.”
According to the indictment against Barsegh Beglaryan, “as the owner of Flash LLC, from January 25, 2013 to February 7, 2015, he incited Sergo Karapetyan, who served as the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia in 2013, to embezzle a particularly large sum of state funds entrusted to the Government of the Republic of Armenia from the reserve fund, amounting to 489,160,310 drams, during the implementation of the state program to support the purchase of diesel fuel at affordable prices for agricultural work in the spring of 2013.”
According to the indictment against Gevorg Harutyunyan, “from June 25, 2012 to February 7, 2015, he…from January 12, 2013, while holding the position of Head of the Plant Breeding Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia, being an official permanently performing the functions of a state representative, by abusing his official position, from January 25, 2013 to February 7 of the same year, assisted a group of officials in embezzling an especially large sum of 489,160,310 drams from the state budget.”
As a reminder, Sergo Karapetyan and Samvel Galstyan, who were involved in this case, died of coronavirus. The criminal prosecution against them was terminated by a court decision.