Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor

On December 21, 2018, a criminal case was initiated in Police Spitak division against Lernavan village school headmaster Paytsar Vardanyan under Article 179 § 3 point 1 of the RA Criminal Code (Squandering or embezzlement in significant amount). 

The criminal case was initiated on the basis of G.G., who is an employee in the same school. The report was presented to the RA Prosecutor General by HCA Vanadzor on November 28, 2018.

G.G. mentioned in the report that Paytsar Vardanyan employed her brother’s daughter-in-law and later her brother’s wife as a night guard. Neither of them went to work.  

Besides, she paid salaries to teachers who did not go to work and provided certificates to pupils who did not attend school. As G.G. tells, parallel to raising others’ salaries, she lowered her and her sister’s (N.G. who works in the same school) salaries and manifested a disrespectful attitude towards them.

The reason for the attitude, as G.G. claims, is the inquiry that HCA Vanadzor lawyer Arayik Zalyan addressed to the headmaster in order to receive documents concerning them.

It should be mentioned that P. Vardanyan avoided receiving the lawyer’s inquiries for months on end and responded to them only after the complaints pertaining to the matter were made to superior bodies.

Discussing G.G.’s report on illegalities of the headmaster, RA Police Spitak division senior detective E. Danielyan found out that on September 24, 2014, Paytsar Vardanyan employed her brother’s daughter-in-law as a night guard and on April 29, 2015, she employed her brother’s wife in the same position. Neither of them went to work, however, their salaries, including  the prenatal and postnatal paid leave payments of her brother’s daughter-in-law ( 3,963,615 AMD in total) were received by headmaster P. Vardanyan. That is to say, P. Vardanyan arrogated the money by way of squandering.

The initiated criminal case was sent to preliminary investigation.

It is important to add that P. Vardanyan made redundant G.G., who raised issues of her illegalities.