Sarkisian was found not guilty on May 31 more than four years after the start of his trial. It is not clear why the prosecutors waited for over three months to formally challenge the ruling in the Court of Appeals.
Sarkisian, who ruled Armenia from 2008-2018, was charged with giving privileged treatment in 2013 to his longtime friend and businessman Barsegh Barseghian, which allegedly cost the state over $1 million in losses. According to the prosecution, he made sure that a government tender for supplies of subsidized diesel fuel to farmers is won by Barseghian’s Flash company, rather than another fuel importer that offered a lower price.
The ex-president has said all along that the tender was fair because only Flash met the bidding specifications set by the Ministry of Agriculture. The Yerevan court of first instance eventually agreed with his assertion.
Sarkisian has also claimed that he as well as Beglarian were indicted as part of a political vendetta waged by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. The latter came to power in 2018 while leading mass protests that forced Sarkisian to resign.
Sarkisian, 70, refused last year to plea the statute of limitations and thus cut short his trial, insisting on his formal acquittal. He would not have gone to prison even if he had been convicted.
The ex-president did not quit active politics after losing power. He continues to lead the Republican Party of Armenia, one of the two opposition groups represented in the country’s current parliament.