Moscow investigators complete case against Russian-Armenian businessman Over ex-Ukrainian MP Kyva murder

Russian investigators have completed a criminal case against businessman Araik Amirkhanyan, who is accused of complicity in the murder of former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva in December 2023, as well as financial crimes, according to law enforcement sources cited by TASS.

In the final version of the charges, Amirkhanyan is accused of complicity in murder under Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code, money laundering under Article 174.1, and two counts of tax evasion under Article 199.

Investigators believe Amirkhanyan provided information about Kyva’s whereabouts, daily routine and travel routes to those who ordered the killing, enabling the gunman to ambush and shoot the former member of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada in the Moscow region.

According to the source, one of the priority investigative versions is that both the individual who ordered the killing and the perpetrator may still be in Russia and did not leave the country after the crime, allegedly in an attempt to hinder law enforcement efforts. The criminal case against the suspected organiser and the gunman has been separated into a distinct proceeding, and investigative actions are ongoing.

Amirkhanyan has reviewed the case materials together with his defence. The case will soon be submitted to the regional prosecutor’s office for approval of the indictment. If no major procedural violations are found, it will be forwarded to the Moscow Regional Court for trial. Proceedings are expected to involve a jury, at the defendant’s request.

In September 2025, the Sergievo-Posadsky Court in the Moscow region ordered Amirkhanyan’s arrest. He was initially held in pre-trial detention centre SIZO-2, commonly known as Butyrka, and later transferred to SIZO-7, where he remains in custody. According to the case file, he has denied guilt during questioning.

Russian investigators have not yet identified the individuals who ordered and carried out the killing, and the weapon used in the attack has not been recovered.

Separately, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry database indicates that Amirkhanyan was declared wanted in 2020 on fraud charges under Part 4 of Article 190 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code. He was stripped of Ukrainian citizenship and currently holds Russian and Armenian citizenship.

Kyva was found dead from a gunshot wound in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region in December 2023.

By Sabina Mammadli