Armenian PM moves to nationalise property linked to businessman Tsarukyan

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has announced the possible transfer of a mansion belonging to businessman and Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan into state ownership, alongside broader plans to nationalise other assets linked to the oligarch.

According to Armenian media reports cited by Caliber.Az, Pashinyan made the remarks during an election campaign event in the Shirak region.

“They want to save their property, because the way to save their property is the absence of the Republic of Armenia. As long as the Republic of Armenia exists, the houses of Gagik Tsarukyan have already begun to be returned to the people,” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister added that by 2031, the Tsarukyan mansion should be converted into a care centre for the elderly. He also noted that the property of Tsarukyan’s son-in-law, Karapet Guloyan, had previously been transferred to state ownership.

Pashinyan has also indicated plans to bring the Araratcement plant, owned by Tsarukyan, under state control and appoint a temporary administrator. Earlier, Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office reported alleged irregularities in the company’s privatisation in 2002, prompting the Anti-Corruption Committee to open a criminal investigation.

By Vugar Khalilov