Public criminal prosecution has been initiated against Kamo Areyan, an adviser to the Mayor of Yerevan. He is accused of abusing his official authority in connection with the transfer of specially protected green areas in the capital.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, on July 20 the prosecutor approved the indictment and referred to the Anti-Corruption Court the criminal case against K.A., who served as First Deputy Mayor of Yerevan from 2003 to 2009.

The criminal investigation found that K.A. allegedly used his official powers against the interests of the service and participated in the unlawful transfer of two state-owned land plots, each measuring 6,000 square metres, located at the intersection of Azatutyun Avenue and Babayan Street. The plots were included in the list of lands subject to transfer restrictions under Article 60 of Armenia's Land Code.

The investigation established that the land plots had been granted for free permanent use to the Hayrenik-Spyurk Kamurj and Surb Lazar public organizations. At the same time, under a government decision, they had been included in a specially protected area designated for the expansion of Yerevan's green zones and intended for the establishment of a citywide park. Under the Land Code, the plots were not eligible for transfer.

According to the prosecution, despite being aware of the legal status of the land, K.A. approved with his signature draft decisions authorizing the transfer, thereby creating the legal basis for the mayor to adopt the relevant decisions. As a result, the two plots were sold directly to the public organizations for 98.856 million drams each.

The criminal proceedings concluded that these actions removed state-owned green areas that were not eligible for transfer from state ownership, eliminated the legal restrictions protecting them, and created conditions for the subsequent privatization of adjacent land. Ultimately, Yerevan lost the opportunity to establish new parks and public gardens, areas previously accessible to the public became privately owned, and citizens' right to a favourable environment was undermined.

The prosecutor brought public criminal prosecution against K.A. under two counts of Part 2 of Article 308 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003, concerning abuse of official authority. On July 20, 2026, the case was referred to the Anti-Corruption Court with the approved indictment.

Within the same criminal proceedings, on April 23 the prosecutor also initiated public criminal prosecution against former Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharian on charges of abuse of official authority resulting through negligence in grave consequences, as well as against two other Yerevan City Hall officials.