The security forces of Armenia have arrested this Tuesday the former president of the country Robert Kocharián in the context of an investigation for alleged abuse of power, money laundering, and bribery during the period in which he led the country, between 1998 and 2008.
The detention has occurred after the Prosecutor's Office has initiated a criminal process against him and has been carried out simultaneously with the arrest of one of his sons, Sedrak Kocharián, and four other people who allegedly participated in the same scheme.
In parallel, the agents have carried out various searches in the homes of the Kocharián, including that of another of his sons, the deputy Levón Kocharián, as well as in a premises owned by the wife of the latter, according to information published by the newspaper "Armenian Times".
The Prosecutor's Office has indicated that they are analyzing complaints for abuse of power, "in at least three cases," as well as for "the obtaining of large-scale bribes, in at least two occasions," and for "the laundering of large amounts of money," according to what the institution has specified in an official statement.
Among the other individuals involved in the investigation are the former president Serzh Sargsián, the former prime minister Andranik Markarián, who passed away in 2007, and the former mayor of Yerevan, Gaguik Beglarián, in addition to other people.
The procedure is part of a broad investigation by the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia, which also examines transfers made in the name of Sedrak Kocharián between 2001 and 2019, as well as the purchase of more than thirty real estate properties in Armenia and abroad associated with the investigated and several of their relatives.