An unusual $2.2 million banking scam uncovered in Armenia

YEREVAN, August 14. /ARКА/. A man suspected of embezzling 802.5 million drams from a bank and money laundering has been arrested in Armenia. The preliminary investigation has been completed, the press service of the RA Investigative Committee reported.

During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained indicating that the suspect discovered a technical glitch in the software of an electronic application used by one of the companies. When making transfers from an account to a card and from one card to another, the system did not check the account balance.

Between December 30, 2024, and January 5, 2025, with only 92,000 drams in his account at the bank, the suspect used the application to transfer various amounts of money 2,709 times. As a result, a technical glitch resulted in 802.5 million drams ($2.2 million) being generated on his card account, which the system interpreted as successful transactions.

Furthermore, from January 1 to 5, 2025, in an attempt to conceal the criminal origin of the stolen funds, he transferred 711.5 million drams to the accounts of companies engaged in cryptocurrency transactions in Armenia, converting part of the money into cryptocurrencies. He transferred the remaining funds to the card accounts of more than 100 individuals.

A public criminal prosecution has been initiated against him on charges of embezzlement using computer systems and money laundering on an especially large scale.

During the preliminary investigation, the bank was compensated for 44.7 million drams in damages. The criminal case and the indictment have been sent to the supervising prosecutor.-0-

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