Former Armenian defence minister detained in Moscow on multiple charges

Arshak Karapetyan, the former Defence Minister of Armenia, was arrested in Moscow on December 30.

Karapetyan, who served as Armenia’s Defence Minister for several months in 2021, was detained on Tverskaya Street during daylight hours, Caliber.Az reports.

He is wanted in Armenia on several charges, including illegal participation in entrepreneurial activities, abuse of office, and misuse of power.

To recap, six senior Armenian officials resigned in November 2024, following a request from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for them to step down.

"The reasons for this request are not personal, but rather systemic, as I have previously discussed publicly," Pashinyan wrote on Facebook.

The officials who resigned included Vahe Ghazaryan, the interior minister; Karen Andreasyan, chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council; Sasun Khachatryan, chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee; Argishti Kyaramyan, chairman of the Investigative Committee; Gnel Sanosyan, minister of territorial administration and infrastructure; and Rustam Badasian, chairman of the State Revenue Committee.

By Aghakazim Guliyev