Armenia arrests six pro-Russian candidates for voter bribery
The Investigative Committee of Armenia announced Sunday the arrest of six parliamentary candidates from the pro-Russian "Strong Armenia" alliance on charges of voter bribery and large-scale money laundering.
The General Prosecutor's Office secured arrest warrants after obtaining formal approval from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). The detained opposition candidates have been identified as Artur Abrahamyan, Ashot Sahakyan, Syuzan Badoyan, Vahe Yeghiazaryan, Hayk Avagyan, and Vahe Tavakalyan.
On June 6, the CEC rejected a petition by the pro-European "Republic" party to disqualify the "Strong Armenia" alliance from the upcoming parliamentary elections. CEC Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan stated the request relied solely on assumptions, noting that no judicial rulings or legal grounds existed to cancel the bloc's registration.
In a parallel case, investigators launched a criminal probe against Narek Karapetyan, the alliance's top candidate for the Yerevan Council of Elders. Karapetyan is suspected of concealing his Russian citizenship during registration, with reports indicating his citizenship data vanished from official Russian registries a day after the allegations surfaced.
The "Strong Armenia" bloc, founded by Tashir Group owner Samvel Karapetyan, is widely viewed by international observers as a Kremlin-backed vehicle to counter Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Pashinyan has consistently promoted closer integration between Armenia, the European Union, and the United States.
According to a May 19 investigation by The Insider, Moscow's policy toward Armenia is directly managed by the Russian presidential administration. Representatives of Russia's intelligence services, including the SVR, GRU, and FSB, remain actively engaged in Yerevan to support pro-Russian political factions.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
