Gndevaz ex-mayor's son made 147 million in fraudulent land deal involving Lydian, authorities say

YEREVAN, AUGUST 20, ARMENPRESS. A former mayor of Gndevaz (Vayots Dzor Province) is suspected in misconduct and abuse of power for embezzlement involving the sale of land to Lydian Armenia, the operator of the Amulsar mine, authorities said.

The Investigative Committee said in a news release that in 2014 the then-mayor of Gndevaz auctioned off 9,91 hectares of land and sold it to his son, who in turn re-sold it in 2015 to Lydian Armenia, the company that operates the Amulsar mine and which at that time was acquiring land.

The mayor had listed the price of the land while selling it to his son as 410,130 drams, but his son re-sold it for 147 million.

The ex-mayor has been charged with official misconduct and 70 million drams in damages have been restored so far during the investigation.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan