PAP member: Armenian authorities` actions against Gagik Tsarukyan  cost Armenia lost investments and trust of business community

ArmInfo. The Armenian authorities' actions against their political opponents are already costing Armenia lost investments and the trust of the business community. This was  stated by Arman Abovyan, a member of the political party, in a  conversation with journalists in Yerevan on July 22.

He noted that today, even the most pro-government figures and  citizens have no doubt that the case against Tsarukyan is a  manifestation of political persecution. "But we must understand that  no power lasts forever. However, when people gain it, it's as if they  lose their memory; they develop a kind of political amnesia. But, I  repeat, no power lasts forever," Abovyan noted outside the  Investigative Committee building, where Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of  the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), was brought in for questioning.  He is implicated in a case of fraud and financial misconduct.

He noted that the authorities have essentially escalated the  situation with Tsarukyan into an international scandal-in this case,  between Armenia and Iran. "We recall the Iranian ambassador's  statement, in which he recalled that the Iranian side already has a  decision on the case, according to which Tsarukyan is the injured  party. But since we are dealing with political persecution, this is  irrelevant. However, justice will definitely be restored. I have said  this before and I will say it again: everything this government is  trying to do against Tsarukyan will fail, and they will later return  everything," the PAP member asserted.

Abovyan believes that such behavior by the authorities is a signal  that Armenia is no longer a state governed by the rule of law and  that the right to private property no longer applies. "It turns out  that if something is done to the authorities' displeasure, they can  seize someone's property at any time. This all indicates that this  government is inadequate, since otherwise it would not inflict such  harm on its own country. And when they talk day and night about state  interests, I wonder which state's interests they are talking about.  Certainly not the interests of Armenia," Abovyan emphasized.

Regarding the case itself, he explained that the Iranian  businessmen-according to his information, Kurds by nationality-came  to Armenia with a proposal to establish an Armenian-Iranian Trade  House.  The PAP member said that Tsarukyan immediately agreed to this  proposal, given the friendly relations between the countries. "I  would like to point out that the Iranian government, represented by  the ambassador, was involved in this process. However, it turned out  that these people were fraudsters. They didn't invest a penny; the  PAP leader did it all. Subsequently, trials were held in Iran, as a  result of which Tsarukyan was recognized as the injured party, and  the people involved signed an agreement by court order to repay him  $14 million," the politician explained.

In other words, as Abovyan noted, the highest judicial authorities in  Iran found their citizens guilty in this case. "I'm sure our law  enforcement agencies received the call, quickly found something, and  didn't even try to get to the bottom of the matter. This suggests the  system simply doesn't work. Essentially, anyone can be approached  today and charged with charges that don't apply to them," the PAP  member noted.

Abovyan noted that, in the current situation, he's already receiving  reports of many people winding up their businesses in Armenia, no  longer wanting to invest in the country, as it's impossible to do so  where they can be detained for expressing their opinion. "This is  exactly what happened to Tsarukyan. He simply stated that agriculture  is on the brink of collapse, spoke of risks and Azerbaijan's  territorial claims against Armenia, citing, interestingly, a report  from the Armenian Foreign Intelligence Service," Abovyan concluded.

As a reminder, on July 6, the PAP leader was detained and taken to  the Investigative Committee of Armenia. He is accused of organizing  fraud and money laundering on an especially large scale.  According  to investigators, between 2022 and 2024, a group operating under his  leadership, under the pretext of developing trade and economic ties  between Armenia and Iran, created joint legal entities with the  participation of Iranian citizens, after which they carried out a  fraudulent scheme, causing damages totaling over $21 million.  Furthermore, Gagik Tsarukyan faces another charge of illegal hunting.  On July 7, the court granted the prosecution's motion to remand  Tsarukyan in custody for two months. On July 21, lawyer Yerem  Sargsyan reported that Tsarukyan had been summoned for questioning by  the Investigative Committee in connection with the charges of fraud  and money laundering. The questioning continues on July 22. No  further details have been released at this time.