Samvel Karapetyan and his associate were detained after the searches.
Law enforcement officers delivered the leader of the opposition "Strong Armenia" Samvel Karapetyan and his associate, parliamentarian Narek Karapetyan, to investigators after searches. Searches were conducted at 65 addresses in a case of abuse of power, embezzlement, and money laundering, the Investigative Committee stated.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the leader of the "Strong Armenia" bloc and owner of "Tashir Group" Samvel Karapetyan was arrested on June 18, 2025, on charges of public calls for seizing power after a public conflict with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Later, he was charged with money laundering, which the defense deemed unfounded. On December 30, 2025, the court placed Karapetyan under house arrest.
Today, investigators from the Investigative Committee conducted searches at the homes of Samvel Karapetyan and the leader of the parliamentary faction of the "Strong Armenia" bloc, Narek Karapetyan.
After the searches, Samvel Karapetyan was taken away by officers of the National Security Service and delivered to the building of the Investigative Committee. The director of the NSS, Arman Simonian, was present at the search site in the politician's house. He evaded answering the question of why the NSS came to Karapetyan's house, reports News.am. "I hope you don't want me to answer this question seriously," Simonian's words are quoted in the publication.
The press service of the "Strong Armenia" party confirmed that Samvel Karapetyan was subjected to detention, informs "News-Armenia".
36 people are subject to criminal prosecution in this case
The Investigative Committee announced that searches were conducted simultaneously at 65 addresses as part of a case of abuse of official powers, large-scale embezzlement, and money laundering.
According to the investigation, from 2016 to 2024, Samvel Karapetyan organized the activities of a group of individuals "allegedly involved in committing a number of crimes related to the activities of the Closed Joint Stock Company 'Electric Networks of Armenia'", the publication writes.
Investigators believe that the leaders and other responsible persons of the company attracted credit funds "in volumes not justified by the real needs of its activities", and then unjustifiably directed the money to pay dividends to shareholders and provide loans and advances to organizations.
The total damage to the company "Electric Networks of Armenia" is estimated by the investigation at 64.58 billion drams (about 179.17 million dollars).
"In addition, the Investigative Committee reports on the alleged money laundering through more than ten interconnected companies. At the request of the investigator, the supervising prosecutor decided to initiate public criminal prosecution against 36 individuals," the publication states.
Supporters of Karapetyan faced persecution both before and after the June elections
Recall that on October 21, searches were conducted in the homes of supporters of the "Strong Armenia" party in Stepanavan, and the Anti-Corruption Committee announced the detention of 14 individuals. The party stated that among the detainees was mayoral candidate Arsen Gevorgyan. Opposition members called the actions of law enforcement a political persecution.
In late August, a criminal case against National Assembly deputy Narek Karapetyan and the head of the executive body of the "Strong Armenia" party, Alik Aleksanyan, was sent to court. They are accused of creating a criminal organization together with other individuals. According to the investigation, their goal was to secure a larger number of votes in favor of "Strong Armenia" and the bloc formed on its basis, as well as to create an impression of a large number of supporters of this political force. The Investigative Committee also initiated a criminal case against 37 individuals listed by Alik Aleksanyan.
In April-May, the Anti-Corruption Committee announced the initiation of criminal cases against members of "Strong Armenia" suspected of bribing voters. The statements were accompanied by publications of recordings of conversations discussing the amounts of pre-election bribes and conditions for supporting politicians. "Strong Armenia" rejected the accusations, calling the recordings a forgery.
The "Strong Armenia" party was established in January 2026 based on the "Our Way" movement. Its leader Samvel Karapetyan became one of the main opponents of Nikol Pashinyan. In the June parliamentary elections, the eponymous bloc also united the parties "Country for Life", "New Era", and "United Armenians".
The most pro-Russian parties in the Armenian parliamentary elections were "Strong Armenia", "Armenia" of Robert Kocharyan, and "Prosperous Armenia" of Gagik Tsarukyan. The Kremlin is betting on Karapetyan, Armenian political scientists noted. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a reference on "The 2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".