Samvel Karapetyan, a businessman and philanthropist who has been in pre-trial detention for two months, now faces a fresh charge of money laundering allegedly tied to the activities of several companies. His legal defense calls the accusation entirely baseless and unsupported by any facts.
According to the defense council, this new charge follows a June 17 statement by Karapetyan in support of the Armenian Apostolic Church, after which:
- The head of the executive branch publicly issued direct threats and promised retribution;
- Criminal proceedings were initiated within hours;
- Within 24 hours, Karapetyan was charged and arrested for "calling to seize power" due to that same declaration defending the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
Despite the lack of effective review in the Court of Appeals, the defense insists that any impartial observer can clearly see the charges are unfounded, the detention unlawful, and the criminal case politically motivated. Rather than dropping the case or lifting the arrest, authorities have escalated by filing this new "money laundering" charge based on vague claims involving several companies.
The statement underscores that accusations of "money laundering" have recently become a common and politically driven charge in Armenia. Moreover, there is no indication of any specific actions by Karapetyan related to the alleged crime, nor any attempt to conceal or distort financial transactions.
The indictment contains no references to managerial decisions or property involvement.
On June 18, Karapetyan was detained for two months and transferred to Armavir penitentiary on charges of making a public call to usurp the powers of the Armenian government. Hours earlier, he had issued a strong statement backing the Armenian Apostolic Church: "I stand by our church and our people… Everything will be fine, the people will have their say, and they will realize their mistake."
In response, Prime Minister Pashinyan wrote: "Why are the wicked 'clergy' and their wicked 'benefactors' becoming active again? No worries, we’ll silence them again. For good." He later added that the Electric Networks of Armenia must be nationalized swiftly.
