Armenian law bans such activities by not only politicians running for office or members of their parties but also their close relatives and other individuals linked to them.

Hakobian unexpectedly announced in late February the break-up of her 30-year de facto marriage with Pashinian never registered with a relevant state body or the Armenian Apostolic Church. Critics of the Armenian government questioned the authenticity of the divorce. Some of them said it is designed to end opposition claims that Hakobian’s My Step charity is flouting the legal ban.

Pashinian made a joint public appearance with Hakobian on April 19 hours after exposing her presence in his official residence on social media. He said on Thursday that he has reunited with her.

The Independent Observer coalition reported the lawsuit against My Step on the same day. Hakobian will only face a fine of up to 6 million drams ($16,000) if Armenia’s Administrative Court finds her guilty of the violation alleged by the Western-funded observers.

“Separating the My Step fund from the [ruling] Civil Contract party is clearly artificial,” the Independent Observer’s Vardine Grigorian told reporters.

Hakobian denied any wrongdoing later on Thursday. In a Facebook post, she said My Step’s activities are not connected with the upcoming elections in any way. The charity has been organizing free English-language and physical training courses and handing out material aid to people.

Hakobian refused to say whether she could suspend those activities during the election campaign as she visited the Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan on Friday. The 48-year-old, who is believed to have exerted a strong influence on Pashinian, was surrounded by more than a dozen bodyguards who manhandled reporters trying to approach and ask her questions.

Shortly before the announcement of Pashinian’s “divorce,” Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) pledged to look into Hakobian’s benevolence to determine whether it violates the law. However, the head of the law-enforcement agency, Artur Nahapetian, said on Friday that Hakobian is not under investigation.

The ACC is known to have prosecuted only opposition figures on relevant charges. Billionaire Samvel Karapetian’s opposition alliance, which is expected to be Civil Contract’s main election challenger, has been on the receiving end of such criminal proceedings in recent months.

A senior member of the Strong Armenia alliance, Gohar Ghumashian, was arrested and indicted as recently as on April 14. The ACC claimed that she handed out cash to one voter and promised “services on preferential terms” to another last month. Ghumashian denied the accusation and was freed by court hours later.

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