The leader of the powerful Armenian party was arrested on suspicion of money laundering on a particularly large scale. Russian billionaire Samvel Karpetyan was arrested as part of a criminal case for abusing an official position, money laundering and causing particularly large damage to the Electricity Networks Company of Armenia, the country's investigative committee reported. A criminal case was opened against 36 people. According to the investigation, damage to Armenia's power grids amounted to 64.5 billion drams or about 14.8 billion rubles. According to the investigators, the management of Electricity Networks of Armenia, under Karpatyan's direction, took unjustified loans, and then withdrew the money under the guise of dividends, loans and advances to related companies. The stolen funds, according to the investigative committee, were laundered through fictitious transactions with several controlled companies. In 2025, Kraftian was arrested on charges of calling for a seizure of power. The arrest was related to the fact that Karaftian spoke in defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which had previously been criticized by the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. More details on the Dozhed website. Photo: Alexander Petrin / TASS.

The leader of the powerful Armenian party was arrested on suspicion of money laundering on a particularly large scale. Russian billionaire Samvel Karpetyan was arrested as part of a criminal case for abusing an official position, money laundering and causing particularly large damage to the Electricity Networks Company of Armenia, the country's investigative committee reported. A criminal case was opened against 36 people. According to the investigation, damage to Armenia's power grids amounted to 64.5 billion drams or about 14.8 billion rubles. According to the investigators, the management of Electricity Networks of Armenia, under Karpatyan's direction, took unjustified loans, and then withdrew the money under the guise of dividends, loans and advances to related companies. The stolen funds, according to the investigative committee, were laundered through fictitious transactions with several controlled companies. In 2025, Kraftian was arrested on charges of calling for a seizure of power. The arrest was related to the fact that Karaftian spoke in defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which had previously been criticized by the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. More details on the Dozhed website. Photo: Alexander Petrin / TASS.