Armenian court keeps Samvel Karapetyan under arrest

The Anti-Corruption Court of Appeal of Armenia refused to satisfy the petition of lawyers to lift the arrest of businessman Samvel Karapetyan, owner of the "Tashir" group of companies.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to Armenian media, this was announced by lawyer Aram Vardevanyan. According to him, the defense insisted that the phrase "In my own way" expressed by the businessman in support of the Armenian Apostolic Church cannot be considered as grounds for arrest. Nevertheless, the court left the preventive measure unchanged. The lawyers intend to appeal this decision as well.

At the same time, the court also rejected the petition of the General Prosecutor's Office, which demanded confirmation of money laundering suspicions against Karapetyan.

Recall that the entrepreneur was arrested in June for a period of two months after he spoke out in defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was charged with public calls for the seizure of power. Later, a new criminal case was opened against the "Tashir" group of companies on the fact of money laundering on an especially large scale and tax evasion. Four employees of the company were arrested in this case.

In addition, the Armenian government began the process of transferring the company "Electric Networks of Armenia," owned by Tashir Group, to state ownership. A temporary manager was appointed for the enterprise, and top managers and branch directors lost their positions. On August 15, the court extended Samvel Karapetyan's arrest for another two months.