Saghatelyan: Armenian authorities` actions against Tsarukyan have  nothing to do with the law

ArmInfo.The actions taken by Armenian law enforcement against Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) and businessman, are a manifestation of political vendetta and have nothing to do with the law.

This was stated by Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of parliament from the  opposition Hayastan faction, on his Facebook page. 

"It is obvious to everyone that the actions against Gagik Tsarukyan  are a manifestation of political vendetta and have nothing to do with  the law. These steps, aimed at establishing a personal dictatorship,  are clear evidence that the regime has lost its legitimacy and relies  solely on security forces to maintain power. It is also evident that  no regime with such behavior can exist for long," he wrote. 

It should be noted that security forces conducted a search of the  home of businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia  Party, at 7 a.m. on July 6. The search is still ongoing. Lawyers were  only granted access to Tsarukyan five hours after the searches began.  Furthermore, law enforcement officers and National Security Service  (NSS) agents are conducting searches not only at the businessman's  residence but also at his companies and enterprises.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia stated that the actions are  being carried out within the framework of criminal proceedings and  promised to issue an official statement later. Searches are being  conducted simultaneously at more than 70 addresses.

Recall, businessman Gagik Tsarukyan became a target of the current  Armenian authorities after announcing his participation in the  country's parliamentary elections. During the election campaign,  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan publicly declared his intention to  nationalize the "Araratcement" plant owned by Tsarukyan's family,  after which the Prosecutor General's Office appealed to the court,  demanding that the company's privatization be declared invalid.  Simultaneously, law enforcement agencies initiated an investigation  against Tsarukyan himself, accusing him of large-scale tax evasion.  In addition, the prosecutor's office is seeking the confiscation of  property belonging to the former governor of the Kotayk region,  Karapet Guloyan, and his spouse, Roza Tsarukyan the daughter of the  leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party alleging the  illicit origin of these assets.