Armenian authorities target assets of ally linked to Kocharyan, Sargsyan

The General Prosecutor's Office of Armenia is seeking to confiscate 29 properties, shares in eight companies, and 2.55 billion drams ($6.6 million) from former Prosecutor General and ex-head of the Investigative Committee, Aghvan Hovsepyan. 

On September 27, 2024, the Anti-Corruption Court accepted the prosecution's case against Hovsepyan on charges of illicit enrichment, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

The prosecution is requesting the confiscation of assets from both Hovsepyan and associated individuals. 

Notably, Hovsepyan was a high-level official during the presidency of two Armenian presidents — Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan.  He held the post of the country’s Prosecutor General between 1998 and 1999 and, the second time, from 2004 to 2013. From 2014 to 2018 Hovsepyan was the chair of the country’s Investigative Committee.

Hovsepyan resigned from his post as the head of the Investigative Committee in June 2018, following the "Velvet Revolution".  In 2021 Hovsepyan was detained on a string of corruption charges denied by him.

According to Armenia’s Special Investigation Service, between 2004 and 2018, Hovsepyan participated in the management of several companies carrying out entrepreneurial activities — which he was forbidden as a government official - received around 190 million drams ($385,000) in bribes, and fraudulently embezzled property worth 800 million ($1,620,000).  Hovsepyan was also charged with laundering roughly 1,300 million drams ($2,633,000).

By Aghakazim Guliyev