If law enforcement agencies have launched proceedings, they must have at least

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has dismissed as unfounded opposition claims that the criminal prosecutions initiated against Strong Armenia party leader and businessman Samvel Karapetyan and 35 others are politically motivated and linked to the need to hold a referendum on adopting a new constitution.

The prime minister addressed the issue during a briefing with journalists.

“If Armenia’s law enforcement agencies have launched proceedings knowing that there would be such speculation, they must have at least some substantial grounds. We have seen this tendency in Armenia for quite a long time now — around 30 years or more: whenever a specific case is discussed, the looting is covered up and terms such as Azerbaijan, Aliyev, Türkiye and so on are brought up. We see that tendency.

“If there has been wrongdoing involving 64 billion, then what? What should Armenia’s law enforcement system do? Of course, it must take action. That is the people’s demand and condition. If there has been wrongdoing involving 64 billion, what does Aliyev have to do with it? Can someone explain that to me? Ultimately, we need to understand the origins of our so-called benefactors. And I think this is a very good opportunity for that understanding finally to come about,” the prime minister said.

On 4 November, the Investigative Committee initiated criminal prosecutions against Samvel Karapetyan and 35 others in a case involving particularly large-scale financial damage to Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), embezzlement of entrusted property and money laundering. According to the Investigative Committee, the total damage caused to the company exceeds AMD 64.585 billion. On 5 November, Samvel Karapetyan was remanded in custody for one month.