Armenian PM: Assets linked to tycoon Karapetyan will be seized overseas

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that all assets of Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan held outside Armenia will be seized, according to remarks reported by Armenian media.

Pashinyan said Karapetyan had made commitments to certain groups, including actors outside Armenia with leverage over his assets, but that he is unlikely to fulfil those obligations, Caliber.Az reports via Armenian media.

“Clearly, this property will be confiscated,” Pashinyan was quoted as saying, adding that he regretted the situation and did not wish to see any capital considered Armenian “wiped out” abroad.

Earlier, Armenia’s Investigative Committee concluded its investigation into a criminal case involving Samvel Karapetyan, the owner of Electric Networks of Armenia, along with two executives of affiliated companies identified as V. T. and A. Kh.

The case includes several charges, among them tax evasion, money laundering, large-scale embezzlement and public calls to seize power.

Investigators allege that Karapetyan, in coordination with the two executives, organised a scheme that resulted in tax evasion of more than 1.84 billion drams, equivalent to approximately $4.8 million.

The investigation also claims that between 2020 and 2023, embezzlement exceeding 4.97 billion drams (around $13.1 million) was carried out with the involvement of executives from multiple companies.

In addition, Karapetyan is accused of two counts of money laundering, allegedly committed in collusion with senior figures of other firms, involving a combined total of about 1.97 billion drams (roughly $5.2 million).

By Aghakazim Guliyev