Armenia Detains Ex-President Kocharyan, Charges Him in Corruption Probe

Armenian authorities have detained former President Robert Kocharyan and formally charged him with several corruption-related offences, in a case that has intensified political tensions between the government and its opposition.

Kocharyan, 71, who served as Armenia’s president from 1998 to 2008 and now leads the opposition Armenia Alliance, faces allegations including money laundering, receiving large bribes and abuse of official power.

According to Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee, investigators believe a former president used his official position, together with associates, to remove valuable assets from state ownership through allegedly fabricated arrangements and acquire them at prices significantly below market value. Six people, including Kocharyan and one of his sons, were detained as part of the investigation.

The Armenian authorities have also carried out searches at several locations connected to the investigation. Prosecutors allege that the scheme involved the acquisition of valuable public and commercial properties and the subsequent concealment or laundering of their alleged illicit origins.

Kocharyan has denied wrongdoing. His political allies have described the proceedings as politically motivated, arguing that the former president is being targeted because he is one of the most prominent critics of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government.

The case comes amid a wider confrontation between Pashinyan’s government and opposition figures, particularly politicians associated with Armenia’s traditionally pro-Russian political camp.

Kocharyan has been a leading critic of Pashinyan’s foreign-policy direction as Armenia has sought closer ties with Western countries and moved to reduce its dependence on Russia.

The former president’s detention also follows a heated political exchange in Armenia’s parliament involving Pashinyan and Kocharyan’s son, Levon Kocharyan. The prime minister subsequently questioned the wealth of the Kocharyan family, according to reports.

The corruption investigation has expanded beyond Kocharyan. Armenian authorities have initiated criminal proceedings against former President Serzh Sargsyan in connection with the same case, according to the Anti-Corruption Committee.

Kocharyan has faced legal proceedings before. He was previously prosecuted over the government’s response to opposition protests following Armenia’s 2008 presidential election. Ten people were killed during the unrest. Those charges were eventually dropped after Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2021 that the legal provision under which he was prosecuted was unconstitutional.

The latest case is therefore likely to have significant political consequences, particularly as Kocharyan remains an influential opposition figure.

For now, the allegations remain accusations, and Kocharyan is presumed innocent unless convicted by a court.