A Yerevan court has frozen 9 million drams in the bank accounts of Arsen Torosyan, a Member of Parliament from the ruling Civil Contract party. Torosyan confirmed the court’s decision in a Facebook post.
The freeze is part of a legal case brought by businessman Samvel Karapetyan, who is demanding public apologies and compensation from several political figures, including Torosyan, for alleged defamation and insult. Karapetyan is seeking 9 million drams from each defendant and a retraction of the statements made against him.
Torosyan responded by criticizing the decision: “It has been proven many times that having money doesn’t necessarily imply intelligence, especially in politics. Samo from Kaluga and the terrorist clerics think they can silence us through lawsuits.”
Regarding the report about his accounts, he confirmed: “Indeed, Samo the 'great benefactor' asked the court to apply a measure to secure the claim by freezing 9 million drams in my accounts. For reasons still unclear to me, the court granted it. We will revisit this judicial practice—when political statements lead to lawsuits, and the courts support them.”
He added: “I’ve also filed a motion to lift this baseless freeze. I don’t plan to sell my assets or flee Armenia, especially not out of fear of Samo.”
Addressing Karapetyan directly, Torosyan said: “To the ‘benefactor’ who amassed his wealth in Kaluga—I challenge you and your so-called ‘defense council’ to respond to our political statements politically, though it’s clear neither you nor your hired ‘defenders’ are up to it.”
Businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, currently under two-month detention, has also filed defamation suits against Civil Contract faction head Hayk Konjoryan, Deputy Chief of Staff Taron Chakhoyan, Prime Minister’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan, and several others.
