A prominent Armenian billionaire and opposition leader has been ordered to remain in custody for two months pending trial on charges of large-scale fraud and money laundering. The case has also led to the seizure of a private zoo containing lions and a tiger.
Billionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, a former lawmaker and long-time political figure, was arrested earlier this week after security forces raided his residence and dozens of corporate properties. The raids included his sports venues, a brandy factory, and a major cement manufacturing facility.
Investigators allege that between 2022 and 2024, Tsarukyan orchestrated a criminal scheme involving joint logistics and freight operations that defrauded Iranian businesses of vehicles, machinery, and fuel valued at over $21 million. Authorities claim he falsified customs declarations to conceal the imports and misappropriated the assets.
Tsarukyan has denied the allegations, calling the case fabricated and politically motivated. His legal team has described the charges as absurd.
The arrest comes shortly after his Prosperous Armenia Party narrowly failed to secure enough votes in last month’s parliamentary elections to retain a seat in the legislature. The government had imposed a travel ban on him shortly after the vote, and his challenge to the election results was rejected by the constitutional court just days before the raids.
In a separate investigation into illegal hunting and environmental damage worth $80,000, authorities seized nearly 200 taxidermied animals from Tsarukyan’s estate. They also removed three live lions and a tiger to the local zoo, though one lioness died during the transfer after failing to wake from sedation. Officials have launched an inquiry into the death, while Tsarukyan’s representatives claimed the private facilities were superior to the municipal zoo.
Prosecutors are now also targeting Tsarukyan’s commercial holdings. Last week, a court confiscated a valuable plot of ski-resort land from the National Olympic Committee, which Tsarukyan has led for over two decades. Additionally, the government has announced plans to nationalize the cement plant, citing privatization irregularities dating back two decades.
Tsarukyan has faced legal scrutiny before. He was detained in 2020 on vote-buying allegations but released on bail. Current proceedings also include civil asset-forfeiture cases against him and his family over properties prosecutors suspect are of illegal origin. Investigators say his current detention order may be extended or replaced with house arrest.