Former head of the State Cadastre Committee Manuk Vardanyan has been charged with transferring state-owned historical and cultural monuments to the Armenian Apostolic Church free of charge, according to Hetq.

According to the indictment, Vardanyan, together with a first-category specialist from the committee’s legal and legislative development department, deliberately failed to fulfill official duties, which negligently led to serious consequences. A bail measure has been imposed on Vardanyan.

Specifically, a number of monasteries and churches classified as historical and cultural monuments, which were state property, were transferred to the Armenian Apostolic Church under ownership rights free of charge to ensure their intended use.

The case was sent to the Anti-Corruption Court on April 9, 2026, and assigned to Judge Mary Mosinyan.

The government has amended the Land Code, stipulating that community and state lands can now be provided to the Mother See for church construction and maintenance only under free-use rights, rather than free ownership.