Court orders two-month arrest of Gagik Tsarukyan

The court of general jurisdiction in Yerevan has ordered the arrest of Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, for two months. The ruling was issued by Judge Garik Abelyan. The opposition politician and businessman has been charged with fraud and money laundering on an especially large scale. Tsarukyan himself has stated that he does not accept the charges brought against him.

The actions against the politician began against the backdrop of statements made by Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister, both during the pre-election period and after the elections.

In addition, Tsarukyan and another individual involved in the case are accused of fraud and laundering $21 million connected to the activities of the Armenian-Iranian Chamber of Commerce in 2022–2024. In a separate episode, he is accused of organizing, together with another person, the theft of $934,000 as part of a fuel supply deal with an Iranian citizen.

Gagik Tsarukyan will be transferred to the Kentron pretrial detention facility. His lawyers reported this to journalists.