Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia has opened a criminal investigation against Robert Kocharyan on charges of abuse of office, bribery, and money laundering

YEREVAN, August 25. /ARKA/. On August 24, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia opened a public criminal investigation against the second president of the republic, Robert Kocharyan, on three counts of abuse of office, two counts of accepting a bribe on an especially large scale, and four counts of money laundering on an especially large scale.

Criminal prosecution has also been initiated against nine other individuals, including the second president's son, Sedrak Kocharyan; former Defense Minister S.S. (the third president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, held this position from 2000 to 2007 - ed.); and former Prime Minister A.M. (Andranik Margaryan was the Prime Minister of Armenia from 2000 to 2007 - ed.), former Yerevan Mayor G.B. (Gagik Beglaryan was the former mayor of Yerevan from 2009 to 2010 - ed.), and several others.

"The case being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Committee established that between 1998 and 2008, Kocharyan used his official powers for personal gain to transfer state property to individuals and companies associated with him on favorable terms, including at prices significantly below market value and without public auction," the agency's statement reads.
The investigation also alleges that steps were taken to conceal the origin of this property and make the transactions appear legitimate.

The case materials include land plots in the areas of Acharyan and Tsarav Aghbyur Streets, the area around the Cascade Complex, real estate on Paronyan Street, the Kaputak Sevan sanatorium, the property of a tennis school, and properties on Vazgen Sargsyan and Nalbandyan Streets in Yerevan.

In particular, the Prosecutor General's Office claims that, as a result of one of the alleged schemes, 56 properties worth approximately 2.63 billion drams were actually transferred to Kocharyan.

Another incident concerns Toyota Yerevan. According to investigators, a 30% stake in the company was registered to the second president's son as a bribe in exchange for assistance in acquiring state-owned land plots at a price significantly below their market value.

Note: A person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code by a court verdict that has entered into legal force.