The Special Investigative Service (SIS), a body subordinate to state prosecutors, has announced a pending case but has not declared whether the suspect has been formally charged or admitted corrupt acts.
Ohanian stands accused of embezzlement and abuse of power and could face a sentence of between two and eight years in jail.
Last Friday, another traffic police official, Stepan Karakhanian, was arrested for allegedly stealing more than 150 tons of fuel intended for police cars. He was released from detention on Tuesday and is awaiting trial.
The SIS announced that it will continue investigating corruption in the traffic police, still widely viewed as corrupt. An independent investigation is looking into allegations that officials from the traffic police have been selling driver’s licenses.
Armenian Chief of Police, Lieutenant General Alik Sargsyan, announced that approximately 50 new recruits will join the police force.
He said many current officials are approaching retirement, while “the rest suffer from alimentary obesity, and their appearance does not correspond to the image of Armenian police.”
He said he worried ,that if they were to gain more weight, they would prefer to sit in an office instead of conducting police work in the field.
But, he said, he respects the long-term work of his employees that is why he does not dismiss them.
