YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. The State Revenue Committee (SRC) of Armenia reported the discovery of cases of large amounts of foreign currency in cash being imported into the country and its possible involvement in shadow circulation.
According to the agency’s press service, the Department of Investigations and Operational-Investigative Activities, within its purview, has strengthened controls over the movement of cash across air and land borders.
Specifically, during operational-investigative activities, the department received information that citizens had arrived in Armenia by air and brought with them a total of 113 million Russian rubles in cash.
Upon arrival in Armenia, at Zvartnots Airport, department officers detained these individuals on the basis of reasonable suspicion of committing a crime under the relevant article of the RA Criminal Code. They were taken to the State Revenue Committee’s Department of Investigations and Operational-Investigative Activities, where they were detained.
Furthermore, as a result of operational-investigative activities, information was obtained indicating that a number of citizens, upon arriving in Armenia, regularly brought with them cash Russian rubles amounting to between 18 million and 100 million.
According to the State Revenue Committee, the individuals transporting the cash, in violation of the RA Law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control,” handed the funds over to exchange office employees. Without proper documentation, the Russian rubles were exchanged for US dollars, which were then exported from the country.
The information obtained has been forwarded to the Central Bank of Armenia for discussion of administrative liability and further action.
As the State Revenue Committee notes, the conducted analysis suggests that imported foreign currency was not only exchanged at exchange offices without proper documentation and then exported, but could also have been secretly invested in various sectors of the economy to conceal actual taxable assets.
The Committee urged businesses involved in the purchase and sale of foreign currency to comply with the requirements of legislation regulating foreign exchange relations, and citizens to avoid potential risks by refraining from transporting large sums of cash and conducting financial transactions through bank transfers, which are more secure and transparent.
