The Anti-Corruption Court did not immediately release official grounds for the extension demanded by Armenia’s Investigative Committee. According to Karapetian’s lawyers, it said only that the tycoon, if set free, could obstruct the continuing investigations into his alleged call for violent regime change and economic crimes attributed to him.
“We witnessed today yet another mockery of justice,” one of the lawyers, Aram Vartevanian, told reporters after the announcement of the decision that prompted an angry reaction from hundreds of Karapetian supporters rallying outside the court building in Yerevan.
Karapetian, who denies all charges as politically motivated, was arrested on June 18 hours after condemning Pashinian’s attempts to depose the top clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Church and vowing to defend it “in our way.” Law-enforcement authorities claim that the statement constituted a call for a violent overthrow of the government.
They also charged Karapetian with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering in July after he decided to set up a new opposition group that will run in the elections due in June 2026. The defense lawyers maintain that Pashinian’s administration wants to keep him in jail at least until the showdown vote.
Karapetian’s Mer Dzevov (In Our Way) movement was officially unveiled in late August. It claims to have enlisted 8,000 members since then. Analysts expect it to be a major election contender.
Mer Dzevov was quick to condemn the latest court ruling, saying it was ordered by Pashinian and testifies to the “absence of justice in Armenia.”
“Armenia should not be one man’s pocket state,” read a statement released by the opposition movement. “No matter how hopeless the situation may seem and no matter how crude the pressure from the current government may be, we will not stop our struggle for a second. We are confident that together we will succeed and win, in our way.”
While denying any political motives behind the high-profile case, Pashinian effectively admitted in September the connection between Karapetian’s rhetoric and arrest. He said the tycoon must give up his Russian citizenship before engaging in political activities in Armenia.
Karapetian’s June 17 statement in support of the church immediately provoked a series of furious social media posts by Pashinian. The latter pledged to “deactivate” the 60-year-old tycoon as well as senior clergymen.
“Now I will interfere with you in my own way, you scoundrel … I hope the taste of the state will remain in your mouths,” the premier wrote just hours before Karapetian was arrested.
Artur Poghosian, the head of the Investigative Committee presiding over the high-profile criminal cases, insisted last month that his law-enforcement agency was not guided by Pashinian’s posts.
Born and raised in Armenia, Karapetian has mostly lived in Russia since the early 1990s. He has financed many charity projects in Armenia as well as Nagorno-Karabakh and made lavish donations to the church after making a huge fortune there.
The bulk of his business assets estimated by the Forbes magazine at over $4 billion are in Russia. Although some Russian lawmakers have expressed concern at his arrest, Moscow has so far refrained from openly calling for his release.