Armenian law-enforcement bodies arrest former Yerevan mayor Gagik Beglaryan

YEREVAN, May 18. /ARKA /. The Armenian Police said they arrested on May 17 the 57-year-old Gagik Beglaryan at the Zvartnots airport upon his arrival from Russian Moscow.

Beglaryan served as mayor of Yerevan in 2009-2010, as well as minister of transport and communications in 2012-2016.

Beglaryan was escorted to the National Security Service. He was on the wanted list of Armenia law-enforcement agencies since March 23, 2020 on charges of misappropriation or embezzlement (art. 179 of the Criminal Code) and abuse of official powers (art. 308 of the Criminal Code).

According to the reports in Armenian mass media, Beglaryan arrived in Armenia to attend his brother's funeral.

According to the National Security Service, Beglaryan is suspected to be involved in a criminal money laundering scheme. According to investigators, Beglaryan illegally privatized a kindergarten building in central Yerevan when he ran the Armenian capital from 2009-2011.

He was said to pay only 24 million drams to buy the kindergarten, although the market value of the 200-square-meter property was almost ten times higher.

A suspect or accused of an alleged crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty according to a court ruling that has entered into legal force, in accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia. -0-