06:52, 3 July 2025

The Investigative Committee of Armenia named the reason for the searches in Karapetyan’s company

Samvel Karapetyan. Photo: https://minval.az/news/124470707

The searches at Samvel Karapetyan's company were conducted as part of a criminal case on tax evasion and money laundering, the Investigative Committee of Armenia stated.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, on July 2, searches at the head office of the company belonging to the arrested businessman Samvel Karapetyan were conducted against the backdrop of the adoption in the first reading of the bill on the nationalization of "Electric Networks of Armenia", owned by "Tashir Group".

The owner of "Tashir Group" Samvel Karapetyan was accused of calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order and was arrested for two months.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia held events in the Yerevan head office of the Tashir Group company, owned by businessman Samvel Karapetyan, as part of a case of money laundering and tax evasion, the press service of the department reported.

"Urgent investigative actions were carried out at the head office as part of the investigation of a criminal case initiated by the Main Department for the Investigation of Economic Crimes of the Investigative Committee on the grounds of legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime on an especially large scale and non-payment of taxes, fees and other payments on an especially large scale," the Arminfo agency quotes a report dated July 2.

The security forces seized computers and documents, said the company's lawyer Armen Feroyan. According to him, the defense does not agree with the search. The lawyer noted that the lawyers were provided with the court's decision, which they intend to appeal. "We believe that this process is illegal," Sputnik-Armenia quotes the lawyer as saying.

Feroyan categorically rejected the Investigative Committee's accusations of large-scale money laundering and tax evasion, calling them "predictable lawlessness."

Before his arrest, Samvel Karapetyan expressed support for the Armenian Apostolic Church after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan harshly criticized the church at a government meeting on May 29 and responded to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan's objections with insults on Facebook*. Armenian politicians and church representatives demanded that Pashinyan apologize for insulting the church, according to a report prepared by the "Caucasian Knot" "The Main Thing About Political Arrests in Armenia in June 2025".

Earlier, Tashir First Vice President Narek Karapetyan announced a protest march in Yerevan. He called on people to gather on the evening of July 4 on Mashtots Avenue and then proceed to Karapetyan's place of imprisonment.

Samvel Karapetyan is in 44th place in the Forbes rating of Russian billionaires, his fortune is estimated at $3.2 billion. The billionaire owns the Tashir group of companies and the Rio shopping mall chain.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/412747