A court in Yerevan has granted bail to former President Serzh Sarkisian’s former chief bodyguard less than two months after he was again arrested on corruption charges.
Vachagan Ghazarian, who headed former Sarkisian’s security detail for over two decades, stands accused of illegal enrichment and false asset disclosure. The charges stem from his failure to declare to a state anti-corruption body more than $2.5 million in cash that was mostly held in his and his wife’s bank accounts.
Ghazarian was obliged to do that in his capacity as deputy head of a security agency providing bodyguards to Armenia’s leaders. He held that position until the end of May.
Ghazarian was first detained in June after police raided his apartment in Yerevan and found $1.1 million and 230,000 euros ($267,000) in cash there. The National Security Service (NSS) said he carried a further $120,000 and 436 million drams ($900,000) in a bag when he was caught outside a commercial bank in Yerevan.
Armenia’s Court of Appeals ordered his release from custody in July after he offered to post a 1 billion-dram ($2.1 million) bail. The higher Court of Cassation overturned that ruling on November 15 following an appeal lodged by prosecutors.
Ghazarian’s lawyer, Armen Harutiunian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that the Yerevan court agreed on Saturday to free his client on a much smaller bail worth 50 million drams.
The decision came just one day after the Court of Appeals rejected Ghazarian’s appeal against his pretrial detention.
Earlier in December, the NSS said that Ghazarian, who has the rank of NSS general, has offered to pay the state as much as $6 million in compensation. His lawyer confirmed the information.