The former head of the Hrazdan territorial subdivision of Armenia's Cadastre Committee has been charged with concealing the criminal origin of a land plot belonging to the Artavaz community, valued at nearly 18 million drams, and laundering the asset, Armenia's Anti-Corruption Committee said.

According to investigators, the former official sought to acquire the agricultural land owned by the Artavaz community by including false information in official documents, resulting in the unlawful transfer of the property, which had a market value of 17.94 million drams, free of charge.

The Anti-Corruption Committee said that, in an effort to conceal his role in the illegal transaction, the official arranged for the land to be registered in the names of two residents of the Artavaz community, allegedly with the assistance of the community head.

Investigators further allege that, while remaining the property's actual beneficiary, the former official instructed the registered owner to transfer the land through a fictitious sales agreement to his relative and driver for 1 million drams, in an attempt to disguise the property's criminal origin.

Charges have been brought against the former head of the Hrazdan territorial subdivision of the Cadastre Committee, as well as two other individuals accused of assisting him.

The pre-trial investigation has been completed, and the case has been forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Court with an indictment.