Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan moves from jail to house arrest

Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, head of the Tashir Group, has had his pre-trial detention replaced with house arrest, his lawyer Armen Feroyan confirmed to Sputnik Armenia. In addition, Karapetyan has been placed under a bail condition.

The decision follows a complaint filed by Karapetyan’s defence with the Cassation Court on December 24, challenging the Appellate Court’s December 11 ruling, which had rejected an earlier appeal against his detention.

Karapetyan was initially detained in June 2025 after publicly supporting the Armenian Apostolic Church amid tensions between the clergy and the government. The businessman has denied any wrongdoing, describing the government’s actions as political pressure.

His statements in support of the Church sparked a wave of controversial social media posts from Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which included offensive comments about clergy members and benefactors, generating widespread public attention.

Subsequently, new charges were brought against Karapetyan under Articles 2 and 3 of Part 3 of Armenia’s Criminal Code, accusing him of “money laundering on a particularly large scale using official authority or influence derived from it.”

By Vugar Khalilov