A case of extortion of property worth 2.5 million dollars by Gagik Tsarukyan and Sedrak Arustamyan, as well as large-scale money laundering, has been uncovered.
A case of extortion of property worth 2.5 million dollars by Gagik Tsarukyan and Sedrak Arustamyan, as well as large-scale money laundering, has been uncovered.
06-08-2026 15:22 Armenia Human Rights
Gagik Tsarukyan and Sedrak Arustamyan have been charged with large-scale extortion and money laundering. According to the Investigative Committee, they threatened a Lebanese-Armenian businessman and seized 50 percent of the company's shares, worth approximately $2.5 million, and then attempted to legalize its criminal origin. The Investigative Committee reports that both are already in custody in connection with another criminal case, and therefore no preventive measure has been applied in this case.
"In the framework of the criminal case being investigated by the Main Department for the Investigation of Crimes Against the State, Constitutional Order, and Public Safety of the RA Investigative Committee, comprehensive and effective pre-investigation activities have resulted in apparent factual data indicating that G.T. became acquainted with Lebanese-Armenian businessman G.T. in 2008 and proposed to jointly engage in the sale of gold jewelry.
To carry out this activity, the company was registered in 2009, where G.T. and G.T. were registered as shareholders with 50 percent shares each, and S.A. was elected as the company's general director.
At the same time, in mid-2009, G.T. proposed to G.T. to establish a drinking water plant in the village of Akunk in the Kotayk region, agreeing to jointly purchase the land in Akunk, after which G.T. committed to build the plant's building, while G.T. would organize the purchase and transportation of the pipeline to Armenia.
From December 2009 to August 5, 2010, G.T. sent 19 pieces of equipment necessary for the operation of the water plant to Armenia, while the packaging equipment could not be delivered within the specified time due to the inaction of the supplying company.
After that, on August 17, 2010, S.A. and G.T., with the direct intent to extort the share belonging to G.T., threatened G.T. with violence in the garden of G.T.'s house located in the village of Arinj, demanding that he sign documents. Under the influence of this threat, G.T. signed a power of attorney and granted authorization to H.G., who was authorized by him on March 14, 2011, and a contract titled "On the Sale and Purchase of Shares" was concluded between H.G. and S.A., whereby S.A. received the 50 percent share of the company held by G.T. in the statutory capital, thus committing extortion of particularly large-scale amounts—$2.5 million—through the threat of violence.
Subsequently, G.T. and S.A., aiming to conceal and distort the criminal origin of the gold jewelry and the 50 percent share of the company, linked its activities to the legal transactions of their affiliated companies, and the gold jewelry to their other legal incomes. Thus, through a legal transaction, the criminal origin and true nature of the rights over the company were effectively concealed and distorted, resulting in money laundering of particularly large-scale amounts.
Based on the collected evidence, public criminal prosecution has been initiated against G.T. and S.A. under point 2 of part 3 of Article 182 of the Criminal Code adopted on April 18, 2003 (large-scale extortion) and part 1 of Article 190 (legalization of property acquired through criminal means in particularly large amounts—money laundering).
Taking into account that G.T. and S.A. are in custody under another criminal case being investigated by the Investigative Committee, no preventive measure has been applied against them.
The pre-investigation of the criminal case continues," the statement reads.
Notice: A person accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law of criminal procedure.
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
