Armenian authorities have frozen a wide range of assets belonging to billionaire businessman and opposition politician Gagik Tsarukyan as part of proceedings linked to the confiscation of property allegedly acquired illegally.
The country’s Compulsory Enforcement Service said on Wednesday that restrictions had been imposed on around 29 real estate properties, 488 items of movable property, 33 vehicles and stakes held by Tsarukyan in 27 companies.
Shares, securities and other property belonging to 40 legal entities affiliated with him were also placed under seizure measures under an enforcement order issued by Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court.
Authorities also seized large sums of money and valuable jewellery that investigators said had previously been found during a search of Tsarukyan’s private residence.
The latest action comes as Armenian prosecutors pursue a broader case seeking the confiscation of assets they allege are of illicit origin.
In separate proceedings, the Prosecutor General’s Office has sought the confiscation of 75 real estate properties, the value of another 10 properties, 42 vehicles and stakes in 38 legal entities linked to Tsarukyan.
The monetary portion of that claim totals more than 105.8 billion Armenian drams.
Tsarukyan, the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia party and one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen, was detained in July and placed in pre-trial detention for two months on suspicion of large-scale fraud and money laundering.
Investigators accused Tsarukyan and an associate of involvement in the fraudulent import of vehicles, machinery, fuel and other goods worth about $21 million from Iran between 2022 and 2024.
Armenian investigators later said the preliminary investigation involving Tsarukyan and eight other people had been completed and the case sent to a supervising prosecutor with an indictment.
Authorities allege that property and goods worth more than eight billion drams ($22 million) were subsequently laundered by combining proceeds from allegedly unlawful activity with legitimate income.
Tsarukyan’s detention came shortly after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan secured his re-election after going up against several predominantly pro-Russian opposition groups.
During the election campaign, Pashinyan accused his main opponents of seeking to return Armenia to confrontation with Azerbaijan.
Opposition parties have rejected the allegations against Tsarukyan and other government critics, describing the prosecutions as politically motivated.
Tsarukyan, 69, is a former world arm-wrestling champion who built a large business empire after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with interests spanning gambling, construction, manufacturing and other sectors.
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