Tsarukyan`s lawyer: The guilty verdict ignored all exculpatory evidence

ArmInfo. The guilty verdict ignored all exculpatory evidence. This was stated by Yerem Sargsyan, the lawyer for the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party and well-known businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, in a conversation with journalists after the court hearing.

According to him, law enforcement officials took the testimony of the Iranian side, which is the victim in the criminal case, as the ultimate truth, which contradicts the available objective evidence.  

At the same time, the lawyer called the money laundering charges brought against Tsarukyan absurd. "No one has been able to explain how the money was laundered because nothing of the sort ever happened," he noted.

The lawyer promised to present video evidence to the court, which would be examined. When asked if there was any other evidence refuting the charges, he answered affirmatively, but noted that the existing evidence in the case was more than sufficient. "If there hadn't been a biased attitude towards Tsarukyan, these individuals (the Iranian side) would never have been considered victims, but would only be considered guilty," Sargsyan said. Moreover, he noted that the head of the Multigroup concern filed a lawsuit against them much earlier, but law enforcement officials are simply ignoring this circumstance.

The lawyer didn't rule out the possibility that the judge would definitely be constrained, but he gives hope that the problem is more than obvious. "Tsarukyan committed no crime. He is a victim, this is confirmed not only by witness testimony, but also by facts in the form of video recordings and signatures. Under these circumstances, how constrained must the judge be to find Tsarukyan guilty? To assert this is akin to turning the judicial system upside down." This is not a legally sound case, but a fabricated one that they simply want to bring to a close. I hope the court will proceed in this manner. We intend to go a long way; we cannot limit ourselves to one or two hearings," concluded Yerem Sargsyan.

As a reminder, according to the indictment, Gagik Tsarukyan is accused of committing crimes under several articles of the Criminal Code related to fraud, extortion, and money laundering. Sedrak Arustamyan, head of the Multi Group concern, and seven other individuals are also implicated in this case. The Investigative Committee believes that Tsarukyan and other individuals falsified customs declarations and documents, resulting in significant damage to the state or the involved entities (including instances of theft of property worth approximately 8.1 billion drams). On July 7, 2026, a Yerevan court sentenced Gagik Tsarukyan to two months of pretrial detention. The politician's defense attempted to appeal the decision. In October 2026, the Compulsory Enforcement Service of Armenia, based on decisions of the Anti-Corruption Court, imposed a large-scale seizure of property and assets associated with Tsarukyan. About 29 real estate properties, 33 vehicles, and 488 units of movable property were seized. A separate ban on changes in ownership was imposed on Tsarukyan's properties in the coastal area of Lake Sevan. Seizures were also imposed on Tsarukyan's shares in 27 different companies, as well as on the shares and stocks of 40 legal entities associated with him.