Abrahamian, who served as prime minister from 2014-2016, was charged with abuse of power and illegal entrepreneurial activity in September 2018. The accusations denied by him stem from allegations by a businessman that in 2008 Abrahamian forced him to give up a majority stake in his sand quarry located in Armenia’s Ararat province.
Abrahamian was the chief of then President Serzh Sarkisian’s staff at the time. His brother Henrik and a relative of then Ararat Governor Alik Sargsian each bought 30 percent stakes in the sand quarry at a knockdown price.
The Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) announced that as part of the same criminal investigation it also charged Abrahamian with money laundering. It claimed that he did not declare 230 million drams ($590,000) in “illegal revenue” obtained from the quarry and used it for buying real estate and other transactions.
The law-enforcement agency did not explain why it took investigators so long to file the additional charges and why the ex-premier has still not gone on trial nearly five years after his first indictment.
Abrahamian and his lawyers could not be reached for comment.
The 64-year-old is a native of Aarat who used to hold sway in the region south of Yerevan, developing extensive business interests there before holding senior state positions. He fell out with Serzh Sarkisian shortly after being sacked as prime minister in 2016.
Prosecutors recently asked an Armenian court to confiscate 21 billion drams ($54 million) in cash and 59 properties belonging to Abrahamian or his family, saying that these assets were acquired illegally. Court hearings on the suit have yet to start.