PAP press secretary: By closing Armenian enterprises, the Armenian authorities are inviting Azerbaijani-Turkish capital into the country

ArmInfo. By closing Armenian businesses, the Armenian authorities want to open up opportunities for Azerbaijani-Turkish capital. This was stated by Iveta Tonoyan, press secretary of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), on September 3, in front of the courthouse where the defense's motion to lift the pretrial detention of Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), is being heard.

According to her, work has currently been suspended at dozens of Tsarukyan-owned businesses, and approximately 10,000 people are currently without a livelihood. "Only the Arinj Mall shopping center is operating, with the exception of two dozen pavilions that have been sealed off." Work has been suspended at the following enterprises: the Shangri-La casino, the Pharaoh restaurant complex, restaurants in Tsaghkadzor, the Multi Stone enterprise, and the Olympavan sports complex. The Ararat Brandy, Wine, and Vodka Factory and the Ararat Cement plant, which were seized from Tsarukyan, are operating under external state management, Tonoyan reported. These actions, according to the PAP press secretary, are greatly damaging Armenia's reputation, since no international investor will invest in the country anymore, seeing how private property is treated in the country. "The Armenian authorities are doing this deliberately to pave the way for Azerbaijani-Turkish capital. "We intend to appeal these proceedings in various courts, including international ones," the PAP spokesperson stated.

She expressed her conviction that these actions, including the arrests of Armenia's second president, Robert Kocharyan, his son, Sedrak Kocharyan, and former head of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, Gagik Khachatryan, are aimed at concealing new political concessions from Armenian society. Specifically, Tonoyan explained, this concerns the surrender of Tigranashen and the withdrawal of the 102nd Russian military base from the country. "All of this is fraught with great risks, and everyone will be held accountable for it," the PAP spokesperson noted.

Levon Kocharyan, a member of the National Assembly of Armenia from the opposition "Armenia" faction and the son of second president Robert Kocharyan, reported that the same thing is happening with their companies. "Most of the companies are sealed." But I think all of this is pointless. They've only harmed the people who worked there and who have to support their families. They've achieved nothing else. Besides, if your business isn't working, it means it's not making a profit and taxes aren't being paid. I don't see any point in this. Any company can be accused of tax evasion. We've been accused of this before, and we've proven it. But businesses haven't been closed as a result of this before. If they truly believe we hid some taxes, then let them resolve the issue through the courts. There are appropriate procedures for that," Kocharyan concluded.

As a reminder, on July 6, Prosperous Armenia Party leader and businessman Gagik Tsarukyan 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 amounting to more than $21 million. In addition, Gagik Tsarukyan has been charged with another offense - illegal hunting. On July 7, the court granted the prosecution's motion to detain Tsarukyan for two months. As part of the case, on July 6, law enforcement agencies conducted searches at more than 70 addresses associated with Tsarukyan. The doors of all businesses were subsequently sealed. Some of them were nationalized by the state.

It should be added that on August 31, the Public Committee for the Defense of Gagik Tsarukyan was established in the republic with the goal of protecting human rights, justice, and the rule of law in Armenia.