A court in Yerevan has ordered Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, to be held in pre-trial detention for two months.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said Tsarukyan had been charged with large-scale fraud and money laundering. The case reportedly concerns the alleged fraudulent import of vehicles, machinery, fuel and other goods worth $21 million from Iran between 2022 and 2024.
The Gagik Tsarukyan detention comes shortly after parliamentary elections in which Prosperous Armenia narrowly failed to cross the 4% threshold. Preliminary results gave the party 3.996% of the vote – just 0.004 percentage points below the requirement. The party challenged the result but failed to secure its annulment.
On Monday morning, law enforcement officers searched Tsarukyan’s home. Simultaneous searches were conducted at more than 70 locations associated with him and his business empire, including companies belonging to the Multi Group concern and the homes of senior executives.
The raids have severely disrupted Tsarukyan’s business operations. According to reports cited by his supporters, dozens of companies have suspended work and around 7,000 employees have been placed on compulsory unpaid leave.
The Gagik Tsarukyan detention has prompted accusations from opposition parties that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government is using criminal proceedings to target political rivals. Eight opposition groups have described the arrest as politically motivated.
During the election campaign, Pashinyan adopted an openly confrontational tone towards his principal opponents. After securing re-election, he pledged to act against what he called a “three-headed spy party of war”, referring to Prosperous Armenia, the Armenia Alliance and Strong Armenia.
The authorities say the case concerns alleged financial crimes. The opposition, however, views the Gagik Tsarukyan detention as the beginning of a broader post-election campaign against the government’s critics.
