By the Decision N 860-L of 28 June 2018 of the Prime Minister of RA Nikol Pashinyan, the new charter and structure of the National Security Service of RA were established, according to which the Main Directorate of Investigation of the NSS of RA was formed. The Main Directorate of Investigation of the NSS of RA is the legal successor of the investigation body which had a history of many years in the system of the national security of the Republic of Armenia (1991-1996 an investigation division functioned in the State Directorate of the National Security of RA; 1996-1999 an investigation directorate was within the structure of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of National Security of RA; 1999-2002 an investigation directorate was within the structure of the Ministry of National Security of RA; and in 2002-2018 – the Investigation Directorate of the NSS of RA).
The following divisions are established and function within the Main Directorate of Investigation:
1. Division for investigation of cases on crimes against public safety, foundations of constitutional order and State security, peace and human security, government system;
2. Division for investigation of cases on crimes relating to complicity of special investigation officials within their official position or of cases on their crimes, as well as of cases on corruption, organized and white-collar crimes;
3. Division for investigation of cases on crimes relating to economic activity, crimes against public health, and on general crimes.
In the Main Directorate of Investigation, a focused specialization of investigators currently takes place, according to types of crimes and taking into consideration the peculiarities of the cases under investigation, as well as the scientific and technical capabilities, especially with respect to crimes against information security. As a result of separation of the profile, there are separate divisions directly headed by experienced chiefs of divisions with in-depth expertise in the field.
Investigators of the Main Directorate of Investigation, within the framework of various agreements, undergo training in the Academy of Justice of RA; they participate in training programs in the Federal Security Service of RF, in China and in workshops organized by the US Embassy.
The Main Directorate of Investigation of the NSS investigates crimes, envisaged by the RA Code of Criminal Procedure: crimes against public safety, public health, foundations of constitutional order and State security, government system, economic activity, peace and human security. The Main Directorate of Investigation of the NSS investigates as well all those cases tasked by the RA General Prosecutor’s Office. The overwhelming majority of the cases investigated by the Main Directorate of Investigation of the NSS of RA concerns crimes relating to corruption, illegal border crossings, illegal migration, drug trafficking. A considerable part of the criminal cases investigated in the Main Directorate of Investigation were complex cases of big volumes containing different episodes. Furthermore, in specific situations unsolved criminal cases or criminal cases instituted with respect to challenging grave offences or high crimes, falling under the investigation jurisdiction of other authorities, were also sent to the Main Directorate of Investigation for investigation. As a result of large-scale activities jointly undertaken with operational units of the NSS of RA, those cases were solved within the defined period and brought to their logical end.
According to the requirements of the RA Criminal Procedure Code, which came into force on July 1, 2022, as well as to the amendments made to the Law on the RA National Security Bodies dated 09.06.2022, from January 1, 2024, the functions of the Main Directorate of Investigation of the RA National Security Service were transferred to the RA Investigative Committee.
