Wednesday, April 22 2020 17:55

ArmInfo. The son-in-law of former  President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, Mikael Minasyan, who previously  held the post of Armenian Ambassador to the Vatican, was prosecuted  as a defendant in a criminal case on illicit enrichment, money  laundering and the inclusion of false data in the income statement.  According to lawyer Amram Makinyan, a petition was submitted to the  court to elect a preventive measure in the form of arrest in respect  of Minasyan.  On his Facebook page, Makinyan said that more than a  month ago he submitted a request for interrogation of an employee of  the company, who, on the basis of an agreement on the provision of  services concluded with Mikael Minasyan, was responsible for drafting  and filling out this declaration. According to him, the application  has still been left without consideration. At the same time, he  criticized the justification for the arrest as a measure of  restraint: preventing the possibility of illegal influence on an  employee of the specified company. 

To recall, on November 2, 2018, Mikael Minasyan was recalled from the  post of Armenian Ambassador to the Vatican; He was appointed to this  position in 2013.  There is no exact information regarding his  current location; Minasyan himself previously via Facebook reported  the initiation of more than 10 criminal cases against people related  to him and his family. Last fall, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  called on Minasyan to return to his homeland and answer questions  from the Special Investigation Service. In particular, it was about  illegal, as the prime minister noted, privatization of a strategic  object in the Lori region. According to media reports, this object is  the Dzoraget hydroelectric power station (<Dzora hydroelectric  station>). Former head of the RA Ministry of Defense Seyran Ohanyan,  who is suspected of embezzlement in the amount of 1,046,400,000 drams  also accused in the criminal case regarding the "Dzora HPP". 

To note, a criminal case was opened in Armenia against the father of  Mikael Minasyan, former director of the "Surb Grigor Lusavorich" MC,  Ara Minasyan. He is accused of abuse of power and embezzlement of  budget funds through public procurement; damage caused to the state  is estimated at 908 million drams. Ara Minasyan was put on the wanted  list and arrested in absentia.