Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and his eldest son, Sedrak Kocharyan, were among six people arrested on August 25 during a sweeping law enforcement operation targeting the Kocharyan family, businesses linked to them and other individuals connected to the case.
The arrests came less than 24 hours after a heated confrontation in parliament between Nikol Pashinyan and opposition MP Levon Kocharyan, Robert Kocharyan’s younger son.
During the August 24 exchange, Levon Kocharyan called Pashinyan a traitor. Pashinyan then raised the assets of former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan from the floor of the National Assembly and publicly called on law enforcement and judicial authorities to act over property he said should be returned to the state.
The exchange was broadcast live. By the following morning, Robert and Sedrak Kocharyan were under arrest, family homes were being searched and businesses linked to the Kocharyans were being raided or sealed.
Early on August 25, masked law enforcement officers launched searches and other investigative actions at several dozen addresses connected to Robert Kocharyan, members of his family and associated businesses.
Officers searched Robert Kocharyan’s residence as well as the homes of his sons. Levon Kocharyan’s three minor children were inside during the search of his home. Levon was not arrested and, as a member of parliament, remains protected by parliamentary immunity.
The operation also extended to Toyota’s Yerevan office, Orange Fitness, Play City and the offices of Sirusho Production. The neighboring office of Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation was also sealed during the operation at the Sirusho Production premises.
Robert and Sedrak Kocharyan were taken to the Anti-Corruption Committee and subsequently arrested. Authorities later confirmed that six people in total had been arrested in the proceedings, including Robert and Sedrak Kocharyan.
Robert Kocharyan faces nine accusations involving alleged abuse of office, the receipt of particularly large bribes and the laundering of particularly large sums of money.
As the operation continued, authorities announced that criminal prosecution had also been initiated against nine additional individuals. Those named include Serzh Sargsyan, Sedrak Kocharyan, former Yerevan mayor Gagik Beglaryan, businessman Samvel Mayrapetyan and Andranik Margaryan, who died in 2007 while still in office.
The case widened further when criminal proceedings were also launched against directors of companies linked to Robert Kocharyan.
Prosecutors have asked the court to place Sedrak Kocharyan in pretrial detention, while a similar motion is expected against his father.
Later on August 25, Robert Kocharyan was hospitalized after his health deteriorated while in National Security Service custody. The Anti-Corruption Committee said an ambulance was called after high blood pressure was recorded and that he was transferred to a medical facility for further examination.
His son Levon Kocharyan later said the complications were related to heart surgery Robert Kocharyan had undergone less than two weeks earlier.
As proceedings against Robert and Sedrak Kocharyan continued, the case also advanced against Serzh Sargsyan. Sargsyan appeared at the Anti-Corruption Committee with his lawyer on August 25 and was formally charged in the same criminal proceedings.
The underlying criminal case predates the August 25 operation, but the arrests, large-scale searches and expansion of prosecution to additional former officials, businessmen and company directors marked a major escalation.
The timing has drawn particular scrutiny given both the parliamentary confrontation less than a day earlier and Robert Kocharyan’s current political role. Kocharyan, who served as the first president of the Republic of Artsakh before later becoming Armenia’s second president, now leads the Armenia Alliance, the second-largest opposition bloc in the National Assembly.
Kocharyan and his supporters have denounced the proceedings as politically motivated, accusing Pashinyan’s government of using law enforcement to target and pressure political opponents. Authorities maintain that the case concerns alleged corruption and financial crimes.
