Third Armenian president`s brother faces property confiscation

ArmInfo. The prosecutor's office demands the confiscation of 14 real estate properties and 3.5 billion drams from the brother of the third president of Armenia Alexander Sargsyan, his wife and two sons. This was reported by the Public Television of Armenia.

In particular, the prosecutor's office considers the 3-story mansion on Tumanyan Street, 3 houses in the center of Yerevan, 10 real estate units in the Kotayk region illegal and demands their confiscation from Sargsyan and his family members in favor of the state. The market value of the real estate has not yet been established.

Law enforcement officers also want to seize 4 vehicles, participation in three legal entities (including a hotel in Kotayk), deposits and bonds worth about 1 billion drams.

The Prosecutor's Office has examined Sargsyan's property acquired since 1995. All property belonging to Alexander Sargsyan has been seized.

As noted by the Prosecutor's Office, Alexander Sargsyan and his family members were invited to the Department for the Recovery of Illegal Property of the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia on August 13 to review the materials of the investigation conducted with respect to their property and to state their position. However, none of them showed up at the supervisory authority due to their absence from the country. Instead, the lawyer assured that they would appear at the Prosecutor's Office in accordance with the procedure established by law.

In 2021, Alexander Sargsyan paid the state 3.5 billion drams (or about $7 million at the time) in a criminal case initiated after the change of power in 2018. The criminal case against Sargsyan was initiated under the article on malicious evasion of taxes, duties or other mandatory payments, which provides for 5 to 10 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia, Sargsyan paid this amount as compensation for damages, penalties and fines caused as a result of crimes. It is for this reason that Sargsyan was not prosecuted. According to the supervisory body, 66-year-old Sargsyan also donated $20.5 million to the armed forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and the servicemen's fund.  In fact, Alexander Sargsyan paid $27.5 million. Meanwhile, before and after the "velvet revolution" of 2018, there was an opinion in opposition circles and among the general public that the "all-powerful" brother of Serzh Sargsyan illegally entered into shares in various profitable enterprises in Armenia, taking 50 percent of the profits.