Tsarukian was arrested in September 2020 on charges of buying votes for his Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) ahead of parliamentary elections held in 2017. An Armenian court freed him on bail one month later.
The tycoon, whose party used to have the second largest group in Armenia’s parliament, rejected the accusations as politically motivated. He claimed that they were “fabricated” in response to his calls for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s resignation voiced in June 2020.
A spokesman for the Office of the Prosecutor-General said on Monday that Davtian has instructed the National Security Service (NSS) to step up “investigative measures” taken as part of the criminal case. Investigators are already trying to “ascertain the full circle of individuals” involved in vote buying schemes, said the official.
Tsarukian’s lawyer, Emin Khachatrian, said that ever since being set free in October 2020 his client has not been summoned to take part in any investigative activity.
“We stand by our belief that the criminal investigation has not found any evidence that Mr. Tsarukian could have done what he is accused of,” Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Like other opposition groups, Tsarukian’s BHK also demanded Pashinian’s resignation following Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. The party failed to win any parliament seats in snap general elections held in June 2021. Tsarukian has kept a low profile since then.