Robert Kocharyan has been detained in a corruption case.

Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and his son Sedrak have been detained. The investigation claims that during Kocharyan's presidency, a number of state-owned properties were acquired at undervalued prices, and part of the assets and shares of companies were used to obtain bribes and were registered in the names of his family members.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on June 20, the second president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan challenged in the administrative court the decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Armenia, which allowed his criminal prosecution.

Today, Robert Kocharyan and his son Sedrak Kocharyan were detained. Kocharyan was taken to the Anti-Corruption Committee, and a search was conducted at the home of his second son, Levon Kocharyan, a deputy from the opposition faction "Armenia", as reported by the news agency "News Armenia" citing the Anti-Corruption Committee.

According to the investigation, Kocharyan, during his presidency, removed a number of valuable real estate properties from state ownership and acquired them at prices significantly below market value, News.am reported today citing the Anti-Corruption Committee.

The investigation believes that to conceal the ownership and origin of the assets, they were registered in affiliated companies, after which the properties were developed, sold, and transferred to third parties. Among the episodes under investigation, the Anti-Corruption Committee mentioned the acquisition of land plots and real estate, on which the entertainment center Play City and the Orange Fitness club later appeared, as well as real estate transactions in the area of the Yerevan "Cascade" complex and the "Kaputak Sevan" resort complex. The shares of the companies owning several of these properties were subsequently registered in the name of the former president's son, according to the investigation.

Another episode concerns the building of the Officers' House and an unfinished building in Yerevan. According to the investigation, in exchange for facilitating their removal from state ownership and alienation to the company "Piazza Grande", 56 real estate properties worth over 2.6 billion drams (about 7.1 million dollars) were transferred as a bribe to the person holding the presidential office. The investigation claims that the real estate was registered in the names of the former president's family members and related organizations.

The Anti-Corruption Committee is also examining a transaction involving land plots of the Armenian Ministry of Defense. According to the investigation, plots worth about 1.4 billion drams (about 3.8 million dollars) were sold to a company linked to a person close to the former president at about four times lower than their value. The investigation claims that in return, Kocharyan received a 30% stake in the company "Toyota Yerevan", which was registered in his son's name.

In addition, investigators are examining transfers to Kocharyan's son from 2001 to 2019 totaling approximately 144 million drams, 309 million dollars, 77 million euros, and 18 million rubles, as well as the circumstances of acquiring more than 30 real estate properties in Armenia and abroad. A total of six people have been detained in the case, including Robert and Sedrak Kocharyan, the Anti-Corruption Committee indicated.