Lawyers allowed into Gagik Tsarukyan`s home - Iveta Tonoyan

ArmInfo. . After an hour of waiting, lawyers were allowed into the home of Prosperous Armenia Party leader and businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, where law enforcement  is currently conducting searches. This was reported to journalists by  Tsarukyan's press secretary, Iveta Tonoyan, on July 6.

According to her, the searches have been ongoing since 7:00 AM. It  was impossible to secure Tsarukyan's privacy, as the entire area was  cordoned off by masked National Security Service officers armed with  machine guns. Only an hour later were lawyers able to enter the  businessman's home. Another group of lawyers is currently awaiting  investigators' permission to enter the house and establish contact  with the investigative body.

Tonoyan noted that searches are being conducted not only at the party  leader's home, but also at all of the businessman's properties and  the homes of their managers. In this case, we are talking about a  dozen properties-at Ararat Cement, the Ararat Water and Brandy  Factory, and individual enterprises of the Multi Group concern.  "Thus, the authorities are trying by every possible and impossible  means to exert pressure on Gagik Tsarukyan immediately after the  Constitutional Court's decision on the parliamentary elections,"  Iveta Tonoyan said, adding that she has no information about the  reasons for such large-scale actions by the authorities. Tonoyan  merely recalled that Tsarukyan was stripped of his immunity as a  candidate for the National Assembly by the Central Electoral  Commission. It was precisely this circumstance that prompted law  enforcement to launch specific, large-scale operations on the very  first working day following the Constitutional Court's decision. "We  were also informed from the press about the specific articles of the  Criminal Code under which Gagik Tsarukyan is accused. If I understand  correctly, it concerns money laundering and tax evasion, but we're  learning about all of this from the press, as the Investigative  Committee hasn't yet bothered to issue any clarifications. We hope  the lawyers will explain the situation very soon," said Iveta  Tonoyan.

It should be noted that the Investigative Committee of Armenia stated  that the actions are being carried out as part of a criminal  investigation and promised to release an official statement later.  Businessman Gagik Tsarukyan has become a target of the current  Armenian authorities after announcing his participation in the  country's parliamentary elections. During the election campaign,  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan publicly announced his  intention to nationalize the Ararat Cement plant, which belongs to  the Tsarukyan family. Following this, the Prosecutor General's Office  filed a lawsuit demanding that the privatization of the enterprise be  invalidated. At the same time, law enforcement agencies have  initiated an investigation against Tsarukyan himself on charges of  large-scale tax evasion. Furthermore, the Prosecutor's Office is  seeking the confiscation of the property of former Kotayk Province  Governor Karapet Guloyan and his wife, Roza Tsarukyan, the daughter  of the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, alleging  the alleged illegal origin of the assets.