Armenia’s attempts to expand cooperation with India in the military and military-technical spheres have had an unexpected effect. Resourceful entrepreneurs in Yerevan set up a “business” sending people from India who wanted to move to Europe. However, instead of reaching Europe, these seekers of “European happiness” found themselves in Armenia. At least, the economic department of the police in the Indian city of Kaithal, led by Assistant Inspector Manoj Kumar, investigated a fraud case involving millions of rupees. Victims were deceived with promises of being sent to Europe but ended up stranded in Armenia. So far, Indian authorities have reported the arrest of one individual — a certain Chandrashekhar, a resident of the village of Teli Kheda in Jind district. However, this might just be the beginning.
The words “Armenia” and “migration scam” appearing in the same sentence are not unusual. Armenia, it is worth recalling, has faced a “migration catastrophe”: its population is now smaller than it was during the Soviet era, with over a million citizens having left the country. Moreover, experts warn that it is mainly the young, healthy, entrepreneurial, and in-demand individuals who are leaving. Details had previously surfaced in the press about how “exit documents” were fabricated for money under the guise of dance ensembles going on tour, or how Armenian consulate employees abroad helped people “legalize” in the U.S. and European countries in exchange for bribes.
There are also serious suspicions that terrorists wanted by international authorities were “smuggled” into European countries through Armenia. However, that type of operation requires substantial backing from intelligence services. In contrast, the dealings with Indian “seekers of European happiness” were much more cynical and crude. They were lured to a poor and starving Armenia under the pretense of being “settled in Europe” — left without prospects, without any legal status, and without any real hope of reaching their desired European destinations or even returning to India. Armenia turned into a banal trap for hundreds of deceived people: under the appealing sign of “almost Europe,” there hid a real dead-end — deception and despair. Instead of the promised bright future, reality set in: a reality where Indian migrants were not wanted. These “seekers of European happiness” simply vanish — if not physically, then at least socially, morally, and legally. They have no legal status, no protection, and no way out. Worst of all, the authorities pretend as if nothing is happening.
In fact, this is an extremely dangerous development. Other people’s “migration hopes” have long become a field for underground business. In the best-case scenario, people are simply “ripped off” — the migration “trail” costs several thousand euros. In the worst case, it also involves brutal exploitation. Now, Armenia has been pulled into this network, adapting its already-existing “migration trails” for business purposes. Indian “seekers of happiness” are sent not to Europe but to Armenia, where they find themselves extremely vulnerable — unemployed (the unemployment rate among the local population is already about 30%) and without any legal status. It takes some time before they realize they’ve hit a dead end from which there is no escape. This also complicates the work of the police: victims of such scams often do not immediately understand where they have been brought and what to do next.
This means Armenia has once again found itself at the center of another transnational criminal scheme. It has already been involved as a “black supermarket” for weapons. Huge shipments of cocaine have been intercepted there. Previously, Afghan heroin was trafficked through the occupied section of the border with Iran. And now it is the turn of migration scams. This shows that although the Karabakh clan has been overthrown, the criminal dictatorship remains — only the faces have changed.
