Court rules that money laundering charges against Samvel Karapetyan are unfounded - lawyer

YEREVAN, August 15. /ARКА/. Armenia's Anti-Corruption Court a has ruled that the charges of money laundering and tax evasion brought against Tashir Group President Samvel Karapetyan are unfounded, one of his lawyers, Aram Vardevanyan, said.

““The investigator's motion again mentions allegations of calls to seize power (by Karapetyan), which did not occur. These allegations relate to alleged serious and particularly serious crimes,” Vardevanyan said at a press briefing on Friday.

According to him, the court also ruled that there is reasonable suspicion of a public and violent seizure of power.

“The court also ruled that in connection with the alleged act of medium gravity, a preventive measure in the form of arrest may be chosen, which will ensure proper behavior,” Vardevanyan said.

Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in June on accusations of calling for a power seizure after he publicly supported the Armenian Apostolic Church in its conflict with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration. Following the arrest, Pashinyan declared it was time to nationalize Karapetyan’s company, Electric Netwroks of Armenia, and the Armenian parliament passed laws allowing the state to seize it.

In response, the Karapetyan family filed a lawsuit at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), citing a 1995 bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus.

The SCC ruled that Armenia must halt any efforts to enforce the new legislation or confiscate the company, warning that such actions would hinder the family’s ability to recover damages if they lose control.

On August 15, the Anti-Corruption Court extended the arrest of Tashir Group President Samvel Karapetyan for another two months.

Samvel Karapetyan had previously issued a statement promising to soon introduce the "Our Way" movement to the Armenian public. 0-