Armenia’s former president detained on charges of financial corruption

🔸 Armenian police have detained Robert Kocharyan, the country’s former president and the leader of one of the most important opposition alliances to the government, on charges of “abuse of power, money laundering, and bribery.”

🔸 Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Armenian service on Tuesday, the 3rd of Shahrivar, that Mr. Kocharyan has been detained and is accused of several corruption-related offenses.

🔸 The Office of the Prosecutor General of Armenia also announced that during his presidency, Robert Kocharyan used his position to transfer state property to himself and people close to him under “advantageous conditions,” and then took action to conceal the “criminal origin” of these assets.

🔸 The Anti-Corruption Committee has also published a list of properties that, according to the body, were transferred unlawfully or purchased for the benefit of the former president.

🔸 Among these cases is a plot of land belonging to the Armenian Ministry of Defense that, according to the claims of the investigating officials, was sold to one of Kocharyan’s close associates for a price equivalent to one-fourth of its market value.

🔸 Five other people have also been detained in connection with the same case, one of whom is Sadrak Kocharyan, the former president’s older son and a businessman. The authorities have not announced the names of the other four detainees, and a total of 14 people are accused in this case.

🔸 Robert Kocharyan has not yet personally responded to the allegations, but in a message on his Telegram channel, these actions were described as an “attack” on him and his family.

🔸 Alexander Kouchboyev, the lawyer for Mr. Kocharyan, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that his client was taken to a hospital after his detention. The former president’s spokesperson also said that Kocharyan has recently been under medical treatment and that doctors have deemed it necessary to carry out additional tests.

🔸 The detention of the former president of Armenia took place one day after Levon Kocharyan, his younger son and an opposition lawmaker in parliament, sharply criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for losing control of Nagorno-Karabakh to the benefit of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

🔸 Read the full version of this report on the Radio Farda website.