Yerevan court prolongs detention of Russian oligarch Karapetyan

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court has kept Russian businessman of Armenian descent, Samvel Karapetyan, President of the Tashir Group of Companies, in custody, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“Samvel Karapetyan’s detention has been extended for 30 days — until November 17,” lawyer Aram Vardevanyan told journalists following a two-day court session.

According to him, the investigators’ request was only partially granted; in particular, the court did not find the money laundering charge to be justified.

On June 18, a court in Yerevan had arrested Karapetyan on charges of calling for the seizure of power.

The case against Karapetyan erupted amid a broader government crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church, accused by Pashinyan of aligning with opposition forces and undermining the state's post-2020 Karabakh peace efforts. 

On June 17, 2025, following a meeting with Catholicos Karegin II at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Karapetyan publicly expressed solidarity with the church against perceived government attacks on clergy. In a media interview, he stated: "If politicians fail, we are ready to participate in all of this in our own way," which prosecutors interpreted as a veiled call for unconstitutional power seizure. Prime Minister Pashinyan swiftly condemned the remarks as an assault on the Republic of Armenia, not a defence of religious institutions.

By Khagan Isayev