Russia reopens case against Armenia’s Jermuk water amid tensions with Yerevan

A criminal case regarding the death of North Ossetian man Oleg Gusov, who reportedly died in 2024 after drinking contaminated mineral water from the Armenian company Jermuk, has been reopened in Russia. The revival of the case comes amidst renewed tensions between Armenia and Russia.

The case was reopened at an unspecified date in March, but was only announced on 10 April.

Without disclosing further details, the Russian Investigative Committee’s department in North Ossetia said that the resumption of the case came ‘due to newly discovered circumstances’.

It also acknowledged that the preliminary investigation previously was suspended, as ‘it was not possible to identify those involved in the crime’.

The Investigative Committee, in collaboration with the Federal Security Service (FSB) in North Ossetia, ‘are currently conducting investigative actions and operational-search activities aimed at collecting and consolidating evidence’, the statement said.

The case concerns the death of 65-year-old Gusov, allegedly after drinking contaminated Jermuk mineral water on 11 February 2024 at his home, having previously purchased it from a retail outlet in Vladikavkaz. His health subsequently deteriorated, and he later died following hospitalisation. Reports indicated that Gusov died as a result of consuming acetic acid that ‘could have ended up in the bottle as a result of a violation of the technological process’.

Following the incident, Jermuk was sanctioned in Russia, with restrictions later being lifted after inspections. At the time, the Jermuk Group dismissed accusations that the bottle contained vinegar instead of mineral water.

In January 2025, as Armenia–Russia relations entered a new round of crises, following Yerevan’s approval of a draft law that would see the commencement of Armenia’s EU negotiations, Gusov’s family filed a lawsuit for ₽1.5 billion ($15 million) against the Armenian manufacturer, as well as its representative and distributors in Russia.

Following reports on the reopening of the case, Armenian media outlet ArmLur on Tuesday published a statement from the company’s legal department.

It noted that since the launch of the criminal case against Jermuk following Gusov’s death, ‘no employee of Jermuk Group has been involved in the criminal case as a suspect or an accused, and no charges have been brought’.

‘Which indicates that there are no claims or suspicions from the investigative authorities against Jermuk Group CJSC or its employees’, the statement read.

It further noted that the Gusov family’s claims against the company had been ‘fully rejected’ by the Sovetsky District Court of Vladikavkaz in December 2025. The ruling was later appealed, but was dismissed by the Supreme Court of North Ossetia on 10 April.

Asked about the case among other economic concerns, Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan said on Tuesday that all problems with Russia would be resolved through dialogue.

‘There are some issues, and such issues exist between all countries. At times, these issues increase or decrease. That’s what we politicians are for — to discuss and resolve these issues’, Simonyan said.

A track record of economic pressure

Russia has previously been accused of using food health standards as a way to exert economic pressure on countries — including Armenia.

Over the past several years, as Armenian–Russian relations plummeted, Moscow has repeatedly claimed that different Armenian products, including brandy, failed to meet Russian standards.

Previously, Russia banned imports of Georgian wines and Borjomi mineral water in 2006 as tensions between the Kremlin and then–Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili rose. Russia lifted the ban in 2013, soon after Saakashvili lost power.

The reopening of the Jermuk case occurred following tense talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 1 April.

During the meeting, Putin underscored the impossibility of Armenia being a member of  both the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Furthermore, the sides failed to reach an agreement regarding the future of Armenia’s railways, which are currently under Russian management as part of a 30-year concession agreement signed in 2008.

Despite Yerevan insisting that Russian management means a loss of ‘competitive advantage’ by having international routes pass through the country, following the talks Moscow said there were ‘no objective reasons for selling’ the South Caucasus Railway concession to a third party.

Immediately after the Pashinyan–Putin talks, Russia announced ‘stricter requirements’ on the import of Armenian products.

Separately, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Overchuk accused Armenia of coming ‘very close to the point where we will have to restructure our economic relations with this country’.

In turn, Armenia threatened to leave Russian-led economic and security blocs — the EAEU and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CTSO — if economic pressure from Russia continued, particularly regarding the prices of gas Armenia received from Russia gas — which Putin stressed were preferential in early April.