Armenian court lifts travel ban on former president Sargsyan

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court has upheld the bail of former president Serzh Sargsyan, set at 30 million drams (approximately $75,000), but has removed the previous restriction preventing him from leaving the country.

The decision follows a closed-door hearing on October 10, held at the request of Sargsyan’s legal team, Caliber.Az reports.

Speaking after the session, his lawyer, Amram Makinyan, described the travel ban as “unjustified and excessive.”

“The travel restriction is a harsher measure than all the fabricated charges brought against Serzh Sargsyan. Such measures are typically applied when there is a risk that a person might flee the country using identity documents,” Makinyan said.

He further dismissed any suggestion that Sargsyan might attempt to abscond. “Who in their right mind would believe that Armenia’s third president would seek to disappear? It is out of the question,” he added.

Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia's third president (2008–2018), was ousted in the 2018 Velvet Revolution amid widespread corruption allegations that fueled mass protests led by Nikol Pashinyan. His tenure faced accusations of systemic graft, including ties to oligarchs and state fund mismanagement.

Post-revolution probes targeted Sargsyan. In 2019, he was indicted for embezzling over 490 million drams ($1.2 million) from a 2013 agricultural fuel subsidy, allegedly favouring his associate’s company, Flash. The Anti-Corruption Court acquitted him in June 2025, but the appeals court ordered a retrial in April 2025.

Additional charges emerged in May 2025: accepting a $3 million bribe in 2008 as prime minister and illegal involvement in businessman Mikhail Baghdasarov’s firms (2006–2015). Earlier bribery claims linked to mining were dismissed as politically motivated.

Sargsyan, now opposition leader of the Republican Party’s I Have Honour bloc, denies all charges, calling them fabricated attacks against him and vowing to challenge Pashinyan’s government.

By Aghakazim Guliyev