The inspectorate says it detected illegal extraction or concealment of non-metallic mineral volumes in January–September 2026, involving 11.7 million cubic meters. It assessed environmental damage in 90 cases at AMD 254 million (about $710,000) and referred all 114 cases to law enforcement.
Armenia’s Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body says it found 114 cases of illegal mineral extraction or concealment of extracted volumes between 1 January and 30 September 2026, and submitted reports of apparent crimes in all of them to law enforcement.
The inspectorate said the cases involved a combined 11.7 million cubic meters of illegally extracted and concealed non-metallic minerals. Its calculation of AMD 254 million (about $710,000) in environmental damage covers 90 of the cases, not the full total. Civic.am published the findings on 3 November.
The inspectorate said 24 cases emerged from inspections of companies with mineral-extraction rights. The other 90 were found through administrative proceedings it initiated. It used digital tools and drones in its monitoring.
The environmental damage calculation of AMD 254 million applies to the cases found through those administrative proceedings. The referrals ask law enforcement to take further action; they are not convictions.
In an 26 October 2026 article about Ararat province, mnews.am said AMD 50.077 million (about $140,000) in damage to the state and a community had been recovered through prosecutorial intervention in criminal proceedings during the third quarter of 2026.
The article said the Investigative Committee had opened 7 criminal proceedings in the province over alleged offenses involving mineral-resource use, land damage, unauthorized groundwater use and illegal business activity. Preliminary investigations were ongoing when the article was published.
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