Story perspectives

Armenia arrests former ministers on fraud, bribery charges

6/7/2026

Summary

Armenian Ex-Ministers Arrested

Armenian authorities arrested former education minister Armen Ashotyan, former finance minister Gagik Khachatryan and former Yerevan mayor Gagik Beglaryan on fraud, money-laundering and abuse-of-authority charges.
Investigators allege Ashotyan and Khachatryan fraudulently obtained property worth more than $500,000 from Bryusov State University in Yerevan.
Authorities issued an arrest warrant for former defense minister Vigen Sargsyan and arrested former State Property Management Committee chairman Arman Sahakyan on electoral-bribery allegations.

Summary

Security Service Raids

National Security Service and Investigative Committee agents raided Armat Media’s newsroom on Friday with a court order.
Editor-in-Chief Aghavni Sukiasyan said at least 11 staff mobile phones, computers and storage devices were seized, halting operations.
The raid seized video-editing computers and archive sections with unpublished reports on a possible 300,000 Azerbaijani resettlement.
Press-freedom groups warned the search could intimidate media covering opposition politics before the parliamentary vote.

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Armenian Ex-Ministers Arrested

Armenian authorities arrested former education minister Armen Ashotyan, former finance minister Gagik Khachatryan and former Yerevan mayor Gagik Beglaryan on fraud, money-laundering and abuse-of-authority charges.
Investigators allege Ashotyan and Khachatryan fraudulently obtained property worth more than $500,000 from Bryusov State University in Yerevan.
Authorities issued an arrest warrant for former defense minister Vigen Sargsyan and arrested former State Property Management Committee chairman Arman Sahakyan on electoral-bribery allegations.

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