Russian tycoon’s bid for freedom fails as Armenian court extends pretrial arrest

Armenian Anti-Corruption Court has extended the pretrial detention of Samvel Karapetyan, the Russian oligarch and head of the Tashir Group, for an additional two months.

The decision was disclosed by Karapetyan’s defence attorney, Aram Vardevanyan, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

On November 13, the Court of Cassation dismissed the defence’s appeal seeking the businessman’s release. The court also denied a separate motion from the prosecution requesting that charges of an economic nature be deemed substantiated. As a result, the court upheld only one allegation as sufficiently grounded—incitement to overthrow the government.

Samvel Karapetyan, the Russian-Armenian billionaire and founder of the Tashir Group, was arrested on June 18, 2025, in Yerevan. He faces charges under Article 422 of Armenia’s Criminal Code for “public calls to seize power,” stemming from a June 2025 statement in which he publicly supported the Armenian Apostolic Church amid its intensifying conflict with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Karapetyan criticized the government for “political incompetence,” its distancing from Russia, and attacks on the Church, asserting: “If the politicians fail, then we will participate in our own way in all of this.” Authorities interpreted this statement as incitement to overthrow the government.

Karapetyan’s pre-trial detention was extended multiple times, most recently until November 17, 2025. Although an Armenian appeals court deemed his initial arrest unlawful in August 2025, prosecutors refiled charges on new grounds.

By Vafa Guliyeva