Following Pashinyan's threats during a campaign, the prosecutor's office announced a case related to Ararat Cement.

During the election campaign, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Ararat Cement plant, owned by the family of Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia party, would be nationalized. Subsequently, the prosecutor's office announced a case regarding violations during the privatization of the enterprise.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," parliamentary elections in Armenia are scheduled for June 7. Seventeen parties and two blocs have been admitted. Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia" bloc, Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" bloc, and Gagik Tsarukyan's "Prosperous Armenia" party are the most pro-Russian participants in the upcoming elections. The Kremlin is betting on Karapetyan, but by law he cannot participate in the elections.

Pashinyan promised to nationalize Ararat Cement

Today, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Ararat Cement plant will become state-owned and will belong to Armenia.

"Very soon, the business backbone of Prosperous Armenia Party leader Tsarukyan – the Ararat Cement Plant – will become state-owned and will belong to the Republic of Armenia, because the mafia's scam has been exposed," News.Am quotes him as saying during a speech in the Lori region.

Pashinyan said that the Armenian government has already received a letter from the prosecutor's office stating that this property is subject to nationalization, and in the near future, the authorities, following the example of the Electric Networks of Armenia, will also appoint a manager At Ararat Cement.

"I congratulate all the workers of the Ararat Cement Plant on their release. From now on, I say: they no longer need to follow any instructions from Tsarukyan or Guloyan, because their employer is now the Republic of Armenia," Pashinyan stated today during the election campaign.

Following this, the Prosecutor General's Office issued a statement stating that numerous violations were identified during the privatization of Ararat Cement. The office asserts that the investigation was conducted within the scope of its mandate to protect state and public interests. The Prosecutor's Office noted that, following the investigation, it sent a report of the crime to the Anti-Corruption Committee on May 5, 2026. A criminal case has been opened under Part 2 of Article 441 of the Armenian Criminal Code (abuse or excess of authority by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, the maximum penalty is up to eight years in prison) and Part 3 of Article 296 of the Armenian Criminal Code (money laundering on an especially large scale using official position, the maximum penalty is up to 12 years in prison), Armenia Today reports.

Tsarukyan's party demands an investigation

Iveta Tonoyan, press secretary of the Prosperous Armenia party, commenting on Nikol Pashinyan's statement about the nationalization of the Ararat Cement plant, told reporters that she has serious suspicions that the prime minister may soon want to nationalize the statue of Jesus Christ, Aysor.Am reports.

"After Nikol Pashinyan's threat to nationalize the plant, the Prosecutor General's Office issued a statement just minutes later. We intend to seek a legal assessment of what is happening. It is sad that instead of combating high crime rates, large-scale drug trafficking, and other similar negative phenomena, our country's law enforcement system organizes its work on the instructions of one person—like a contract concert,” said Iveta Tonoyan.

As a reminder, in July 2025, 65 members of the Armenian parliament supported a bill allowing the nationalization of Karapetyan's company, Electric Networks of Armenia. On July 8, 2025, security forces searched the company's offices and the home of Narek Karapetyan, chairman of the board of directors.

On July 2, 2025, searches were conducted at the Yerevan office of Tashir Group. The searches were prompted by a criminal case on tax evasion and money laundering. On July 11, 2025, Vaghinak Kazaryan, director of Karapetyan's Tashir Pizza company, was arrested in connection with tax evasion.