The leader of "Prosperous Armenia" has been sent to pre-trial detention.
The court has arrested the leader of the opposition party "Prosperous Armenia", billionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, for two months, accused of fraud and tax evasion.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 6, law enforcement conducted searches at the home of the leader of "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan and in all his companies. After the searches, Tsarukyan was detained on suspicion of fraud and money laundering as part of an organized group. Several opposition forces in Armenia called Tsarukyan's detention political persecution.
Tsarukyan's party "Prosperous Armenia" along with other Armenian political parties previously issued a statement about the illegitimacy of the authorities and plans to seek their removal. On June 25, it became known that the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia sent a petition to the Central Electoral Commission to strip Gagik Tsarukyan of parliamentary immunity.
The leader of the "Prosperous Armenia" party, Gagik Tsarukyan, has been taken into custody for two months by court decision on charges of large-scale fraud and money laundering, the country's Investigative Committee reported.
The agency added that in the context of Tsarukyan's case, another person was arrested, and another was detained, reports the news agency "News-Armenia".
Tsarukyan's defense stated that they would appeal his arrest. According to lawyer Yerem Sarukyan, this court decision was made by "direct instruction",
"It created the impression that the decision was written in advance and only formalities remained to be observed. The judge did not ask a single question and did not inquire about the opinions of the parties," Armenia Today quotes the lawyer's words.
According to the publication, Gagik Tsarukyan is also accused of illegal hunting: during a search of the politician's house, 190 stuffed animals and birds were found, and three lions and a tiger were seized from his private zoo. The live predators were transferred to the Yerevan Zoo, and they are recognized as material evidence in the case.
According to the case materials, as a result of Tsarukyan's illegal hunting, damage to the environment amounted to 30 million drams (over 80 thousand US dollars).
The accusations of organizing fraud and money laundering are related to the supply of goods and fuel from Iran. According to the investigation, Tsarukyan, along with other defendants in the case, organized a scheme of deliveries from 2022 to 2024, as a result of which property worth more than 8.1 billion drams (about 21.7 million dollars) was stolen, and these funds were subsequently legalized. Tsarukyan himself denies all accusations.
"Caucasian Knot" also reported that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the election campaign in May stated that the "Araratcement" plant, owned by the family of the leader of the opposition "Prosperous Armenia" Gagik Tsarukyan, would be nationalized. After that, the prosecutor's office reported on a case related to violations during the privatization of the enterprise. Before the elections, the prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit in court demanding the annulment of the privatization of the "Araratcement" enterprise.
It should be noted that earlier analysts pointed out that the "Prosperous Armenia" party, the "Armenia" bloc of former president Robert Kocharyan, and the "Strong Armenia" bloc of entrepreneur Samvel Karapetyan are the most pro-Russian participants in the parliamentary elections in Armenia.