Gagik Tsarukyan has been interrogated for over 7 hours. The leader of the 'Prosperous Armenia' party was brought to the Investigative Committee after the elections, again with small handcuffs on his wrists, and police accompanying him did not allow him to communicate with journalists:
Tsarukyan is accused of fraud in especially large amounts and money laundering. According to law enforcement, the wealthy businessman organized the theft of property worth more than $21 million from Iranian businessmen. However, Tsarukyan's lawyers claim that it is the Iranians who owe money to the leader of 'Prosperous Armenia', and there are documents to prove it:
"They clearly signed an obligation stating that they owed Mr. Tsarukyan $14.5 million and were obliged to return that debt within two years. That two-year period was ending right now, so we are convinced that such behavior is aimed at avoiding those obligations," said lawyer Yerem Sargsyan:
"Gagik Tsarukyan and the Armenian side are the victims, meaning the investors are themselves. They deny all of this, and only their verbal statement that 'we bought goods with money and it was stolen' is considered the ultimate truth for them, but the fact of theft is not substantiated. Specific evidentiary documents, such as these obligations, guarantees, etc., are being ignored because they are not interesting to them at this moment," noted the lawyer:
Hours before the interrogation, Gagik Tsarukyan's message from isolation was published, in which he does not criticize the authorities this time, seeming to promise to continue his work:
Suren Surenyan, who participated in the elections on the list of 'Prosperous Armenia', excludes that the businessman will close the political page for the second time, as he did during Serzh Sargsyan's time:
"Definitely not, the mood is fighting, and such a scenario is not even discussed," said Surenyan:
'Prosperous Armenia' did not make it to parliament due to discrepancies in vote counting, and the Central Electoral Commission did not schedule a re-vote in two canceled precincts, resulting in 'Civil Contract' mandates reaching a decisive majority:
"The absence of the BHK in parliament completely changes the picture of the parliament, and this picture will continue in the coming years, but that does not mean that not being in parliament will force us to stop engaging in politics," said Tsarukyan's spokesperson Iveta Tonoyan:
Meanwhile, dozens of Tsarukyan's enterprises continue to remain closed, and the management of the 'Ararat Cement' plant has already been transferred to the state:
Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan announced that his ministry would be responsible for management, and a manager would be appointed in the coming days. Meanwhile, the minister urged the company's employees to perform their work diligently, warning them not only of dismissal but also of possible criminal liability:
"During the days of the revolution, Nikol Pashinyan made statements calling on employees of various enterprises to actively participate in protests, rallies, and the revolution, and now this policy of the authorities, threatening employees of companies within the 'Multi Group' concern to raise their voices in protest, is very strange," emphasized Tonoyan:
"When in a country, in less than a year, two system-forming enterprises are essentially taken from private owners through state racketeering, this is a very bad signal. First, it speaks of political repression, and second, it is a total redistribution of property happening in the country, which will inevitably have a very negative impact on the investment environment, especially when there are no significant investments," noted Surenyan:
The court's decision to transfer the management of the plant to the state has not yet been published, and even Tsarukyan's allies were not familiar with it. The first announcement about the nationalization of 'Ararat Cement' was made by the Prime Minister during the election campaign:
Alongside the criminal case, the Prosecutor's Office also reported that it had proposed to the government to consider the expediency of appointing a temporary manager in the company. The plant is also classified as illegal property acquired by Tsarukyan. Nikol Pashinyan also claimed that the leader of 'Prosperous Armenia' would be imprisoned:
Incidentally, the Prosecutor's Office terminated the charge of tax evasion in especially large amounts against Gagik Tsarukyan two days after the elections, as reported by the lawyer, "on the grounds of illegality." On June 9, Gagik Tsarukyan was sent back from 'Zvartnots' airport and then summoned to the investigative authorities. The charge was brought without the consent of the Central Electoral Commission, which drew criticism from human rights defenders, as Tsarukyan was still a candidate for parliament at that time. According to lawyers, the case was seven years old.
