Lawyer: The sealing of offices of companies linked to the families of Armenia’s second president has nothing to do with the case against him personally

ArmInfo.  The sealing of the offices of companies linked to the family of Armenia’s second president, Robert Kocharyan, has nothing to do with the criminal case initiated directly against him. Attorney Aram Orbelyan stated this at a press conference in Yerevan on September 23.

He urged people to note that, in essence, Robert Kocharyan and his son Sedrak Kocharyan are defendants in two different cases. "One important point needs to be understood within the framework of this case: Robert Kocharyan was not engaged in business. Throughout his life, he was involved in public activities; during the Soviet years, he held fairly high-ranking socio-political positions, after which he became president of Artsakh, prime minister of Armenia, and president of Armenia. He then worked as a director and subsequently returned to politics. In other words, Kocharyan has no direct or indirect connection whatsoever with any business activity. The connection concerns his son, Sedrak Kocharyan, who has been engaged in business since the age of 18. At the same time, I would like to clarify that the amount of assets formed as a result of his entrepreneurial activities does not stand out among those of several hundred others in Armenia," the attorney noted.

Orbelyan then explained how one can understand that this entire legal process had been planned in advance. According to him, evidence of this may be the constant change in the issues on which charges are brought. "For example, when we explain that the president could not have failed to ratify the government agreements, another issue arises—that of allegedly illegally acquired property. As soon as we begin discussing this issue and demonstrate that it has no basis, we are then told that the matter concerns the son of the second president, and so on. In other words, the legality of these proceedings is not actually being discussed," the attorney pointed out.

According to Orbelyan, this clearly indicates that they are dealing with a process that has no grounds whatsoever. "And the process of sealing the companies has nothing to do with Robert Kocharyan. That is, it is unrelated to his criminal case and the charges brought against him. At the heart of the case are alleged tax violations, but as soon as we try to clarify them, no grounds for them can be found. We are merely told about some operational data," the attorney concluded.

It should be recalled that on August 25, employees of the National Security Council conducted searches in the apartment of opposition "Armenia" faction MP Levon Kocharyan, the son of the second president, Robert Kocharyan, as well as in companies affiliated with the Kocharyan family.  Subsequently, Robert Kocharyan and Sedrak Kocharyan were detained and taken to the Anti-Corruption Committee for questioning. On the same day, Robert Kocharyan was charged with money laundering on an especially large scale, abuse of official position (in connection with the ratification of government decisions—ed.), and receiving a large bribe. Charges were brought against nine more individuals as part of the case. On August 27, Kocharyan was arrested for two months by a decision of the Anti-Corruption Court.

We should add that the political force of Armenia’s second president links his arrest to an attempt to neutralize one of the opposition’s principal representatives amid the Armenian authorities’ readiness to make new concessions to Azerbaijan.