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OC Media
3 hours ago
- OC Media
Former Armenian President Sargsyan faces new bribery charges
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has been charged with bribery and illegal entrepreneurship over a case dating back to 2006–2015. This is the latest criminal charge that has been handed and the fourth open case established since he was ousted in 2018. Armenia's Anti-Corruption Committee announced that the case, featuring new charges, was sent to the court on Wednesday. According to their report, Sargsyan allegedly committed the crimes between 2006 and 2015 while holding the positions of defence minister, prime minister, and president. The crimes include participation in illicit business activities, including, according to Civilnet, being a founder of a company engaged in producing asphalt — as a public official, Sargasyan was forbidden from being engaged in any business activities. Citing preliminary investigation reports, Civilnet wrote that Sargsyan operated a company through a proxy, Mikhail Baghdasarov, in 2006, which jointly established a new company with foreign investment organisations whose shares were registered in the proxy's name and companies in Russia. Baghdasarov then transferred some of his shares in the company to a company owned by his relatives at the request of Sargsyan. Armenpress separately wrote that the company was launched with two Russian firms registered in Cyprus, after which they allegedly transferred 22.5% of the shares to a company founded by Sargsyan's nephew and former President Robert Kocharyan's son. According to the investigation, after the company's failure, Sargsyan allegedly instructed Baghdasarov to apply for a bank loan of $14 million to pay back Russian investors, with the company's assets later being transferred to a newly created company acquired by another company associated with Sargsyan's son-in-law. In addition, Sargsyan was accused of accepting bribes in 2015, when a company linked to him purchased shares of the company associated with his son-in-law for $40 million, allegedly granting Sargasyan a monopoly on petrol imports in Armenia. Advertisement According to Armenpress, Sargsyan instructed his business partner to pay a $6 million bribe to 'the son of the Second President of Armenia' in exchange for the shares, which was allegedly transferred to his company as part of a fake loan. A slew of charges Sargsyan has faced several legal challenges since being ousted from power in 2018. Most recently, in May, he was accused of using his official position 'to facilitate actions in favour of the CEO of [an unnamed] LLC, specifically by not obstructing the transaction of selling 100% of the company's shares to a non-resident company in Armenia'. The money was allegedly received in February and April of 2008 with the help of Sargasyan's senior assistant at that time. Both Sargsyan and Kocharyan have been charged with various crimes prior to that, with both being accused of accepting substantial bribes to ensure the growth of businessperson Silva Hambardzumyan's business. In March, Armenpress reported that Sargsyan had been charged as part of a case related to the 'unlawful alienation of the plots of lands adjacent to Isakov Avenue and Yerablur Military Pantheon' in Yerevan which were sold at a price lower than the market value. The charges included '18 counts of grand theft, two counts of abuse of power and money laundering, and three counts of accessory to money laundering', Armenpress reported. Sargsyan was banned from leaving the country. Before the latest charges were brought against Sargsyan, on 18 April, Armenia's Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals overturned a 2024 acquittal for embezzlement, sending the case back to the courts for a new trial. Sargsyan, who was forced to step down following the 2018 Velvet Revolution, was first charged in late 2019 and put on trial in early 2020. He was accused of embezzling more than ֏490 million ($1.2 million) from the state in 2013 through an agricultural assistance programme intended to provide farmers with cheaper petrol. Sargsyan served as President of Armenia from 2008–2018, before being appointed prime minister. During his time in office, there were widespread allegations of corruption, a key driver of the 2018 revolution that ousted him from power.
OC Media
3 hours ago
- OC Media
Russian media claims that Azerbaijani police beat and detained its citizens on false charges
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member The independent Russian media outlet Agentstvo has claimed that the bulk of Russian nationals arrested by Azerbaijani authorities in recent days are IT workers who relocated to the country following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tensions between Azerbaijan and Russia have sharply escalated over the past week following a police raid on ethnic Azerbaijanis in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in late June, which resulted in the deaths of two Azerbaijanis. Russian authorities have claimed the two individuals — brothers Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov — died of natural causes, while Azerbaijan has said police beat and tortured them to death. The group of 11 Russians were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and committing cyber crimes at the end of June, and paraded in front of Azerbaijani media. Many displayed visible injuries, prompting accusations that they had been abused by Azerbaijani police. Citing publicly available information, Agentstvo wrote that only one of the individuals had a previous criminal conviction — on minor gambling charges — despite claims from Azerbaijani authorities that the group was operating as an organised criminal ring. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Baku had granted consular access to 13 Russian nationals detained in the country, which had reportedly been previously denied. In addition to the above-mentioned 11 individuals, Zakharova was likely also referring to two employees of the Baku branch of the Russian state-run media outlet Sputnik who had been arrested on espionage charges on 30 June. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada claimed on Wednesday that the allegations that the detainees had been mistreated or denied access to consular services were 'unfounded'. 'It should be noted that the Azerbaijani side has never publicised and politicised the weeks-long delays in Russia's responses to our repeated appeals for organising consular meetings with Azerbaijani citizens detained and held in prisons in various cities of Russia', he added. Advertisement Rhetoric and tit-for-tat responses escalate As relations between the once comparatively close allies continued to deteriorate, both sides appeared to make more tit-for-tat responses. The pro-government Azerbaijani media outlet APA reported on Thursday that access to '.az' domains had been blocked on mobile providers in Russia. There was no explanation provided as to why that was the case. Meanwhile, Russia's Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) also 'initiated enforcement proceedings' against Azerbaijani-Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov, the Russian media outlet Vedomosti reported on Wednesday. However, the proceedings were originally filed on 27 June — the same day the deaths of the Safarov brothers were first reported — and followed an original 'writ execution' filed in May. It is unclear if proceedings against Agalarov, the details of which were not specified, were connected to the wider tensions between Moscow and Baku. The Russian Foreign Ministry's Situation and Crisis Centre Department published a travel advisory for Russian nationals visiting Azerbaijan on Wednesday, urging them to exercise 'increased caution'. Nonetheless, a prominent Russian travel agency told the state-run news agency TASS that despite the tension, tours were still operating in Azerbaijan. Russian propagandists and military bloggers continued to escalate their anti-Azerbaijan rhetoric, with some accusing Baku of acting as a NATO proxy against Russia. Others suggested, without providing any evidence, that Azerbaijanis had helped facilitate Ukraine's audacious drone strike against Russian bombers deep behind the front line at the beginning of June. Echoing the sentiments used to justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some also called for the 'denazification' of Azerbaijan.
OC Media
6 hours ago
- OC Media
Authorities raid already detained Karapetyan's Tashir Group's headquarters
Sign in or or Become a member to unlock the audio version of this article Join the voices Aliyev wants to silence. For over eight years, OC Media has worked with fearless journalists from Azerbaijan — some of whom now face decades behind bars — to bring you the stories the regime is afraid will get out. Help us fuel Aliyev's fears — become an OC Media member today Become a member Law enforcement agencies have raided the main office of Russian–Armenian tycoon Smvel Karapetyan's Tashir Group in Yerevan. The raid was carried out as part of a criminal investigation into allegations of 'aggravated money laundering, tax evasion, and failure to pay duties or other payments'. The authorities disclosed the criminal case under which the raids were conducted only hours after they began on Wednesday. According to RFE/RL, the searches lasted for six hours. The Investigative Committee did not clarify when the criminal proceedings were launched. Instead, Karapetyan's lawyer Ruben Hakobyan elaborated that the searches were done as part of three criminal proceedings, which according to him were launched in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Karapetyan has been under arrest since late June, accused of calls for usurpation of power. The charges were brought against him following remarks he had made in support of the church amidst ongoing tensions between the government and the church. 'If the politicians fail, then we will participate in our own way in all of this' Karapetyan said in an interview with on 17 June, prior to his arrest. On Wednesday, law enforcement officers refrained from commenting on what they had confiscated from the office after leaving the building with several bags. In turn, another of Karapetyan's lawyers, Armen Feroyan, stated that they confiscated computers and documents. Advertisement 'We believe this is a chain of illegalities that was predictable and I believe will continue', Feroyan said during a press briefing. Feroyan also said that they would appeal the court's decision on the raids while declining to provide additional details, citing the secrecy of the preliminary investigation. In a press briefing earlier on Wednesday morning before the raid took place, a third lawyer working on behalf of Karapetyan, Aram Vardevanyan, called the case against Karapetyan 'political persecution'. Armenia's Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan, according to Vardevanyan, personally filed a report to the Investigative Committee in connection with Karapetyan's remarks. 'I myself do not remember such a case where the Prosecutor General themselves filed a report, rather than instituting the prosecution', Vardevanyan said. He added that the Prosecutor General's report was not provided to them and it was unclear to them if Vardapetyan filed that report before or after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's 'Facebook justice'. Following Karapetyan's interview in mid-June, Pashinyan wrote a series of social media posts insulting both the Armenian Apostolic Church and Karapetyan, vowing to 'deactivate them again. And forever'. Weeks after Karapetyan's arrest, Pashinyan called for the establishment of mechanisms or the adoption of legislation that would limit the political activity of foreign nationals in Armenia. Following this, the ruling Civil Contract party introduced a draft statement on behalf of parliament, declaring the 'inadmissibility' of usurping power from the state. Karapetyan holds Russian citizenship and is a prominent businessperson who built his wealth in Russia. According to TASS, Karapetyan's fortune 'is almost comparable to half of the Armenian state budget', amounting to $3.2 billion.
