ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT PROPOSES TOUGHENING PUNITIVE MEASURES FOR ECONOMIC CRIMES

Noyan Tapan
Nov 8, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. At the November 8 sitting, the
Armenian government approved the draft law on making amendments and
additions to the RA Criminal Code. The RA deputy prosecutor general
Mnatsakan Sargsian said after the sitting that the adoption of the law
is conditioned by the necessity to change the penal policy conducted in
the fight against crimes aimed against economic activity. According to
him, by these amendments, it is envisaged to use a fine in the amount
of three thousand minimum salaries instead of a thousand minimum
salaries as the upper limit of the fine and 3-5 years imprisonmet
instead of the current 2-4 years’ imprisonment as administrative
penalty in case of an economic crime.

According to statistics, 137 economic crimes were registered last year,
which was twice as many as in 2005.

By the way, M. Sargsian said that the ground for opening a criminal
case against the director of Pizza di Roma company was the fact that
evasion of taxes of 15 million drams (about 45 thousand dollars)
was revealed only at one of the seven facilities owned by the company.