Judge Karapet Badalyan of the Anti-Corruption Civil Court extended the deadline for the publication of the final decision in the case of Serzh Sargsyan, the third President of the Republic of Armenia.
“Considering the scale and complexity of the case, it is necessary to extend the deadline for publication of the decision in anti-corruption civil case No. AKD/0024/02/22 until April 20, 2026,” the judge explained.
According to the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, the decision is published in the manner prescribed by this Code within 15 days of the completion of the case hearing, unless a shorter publication deadline is established by law. In exceptional cases, where objective circumstances beyond the judge’s control make it impossible to publish the decision within the prescribed deadline, the court may extend the publication deadline for the decision to 15 days by notifying the parties to the case. It should be recalled that the Prosecutor’s Office opened a case against Serzh Sargsyan and his two daughters, Anush Minasyan and Satenik Sargsyan. In 2023, the court granted a change in the subject and grounds of the claim. During a convened preliminary hearing, the plaintiff withdrew the claim filed against Anush and Serzh Minasyan.
The Prosecutor’s Office demands that Serzh Sargsyan confiscate the following assets in favor of the Republic of Armenia as illegally acquired:
• A deposit of 107,998,657 drams invested in Ararat Bank on February 9, 2018, and if this is not possible, an equivalent amount.
• Interest accrued on the amount held in the relevant deposit account from April 11, 2022, until the date of actual execution of the court decision.
• Interest accrued on a deposit of 44,280,352 drams invested in the same bank on February 9, 2018.
• Interest accrued on the account of 44,280,352 drams held by Ararat Bank from April 11, 2022 until the actual execution of the court decision, as income from property of illegal origin.
• To seize from Rita Sargsyan’s heir, Satenik Sargsyan, as property belonging to Serzh Sargsyan within the meaning of law, in favor of the Republic of Armenia, the deposit of 95 million drams invested in Araratbank in the name of Rita Sargsyan on February 12, 2018, which belongs to Serzh Sargsyan within the meaning of law and was transferred to Satenik Sargsyan by inheritance; and if this is not possible, to seize equivalent funds from Satenik Sargsyan. If Satenik Sargsyan is a bona fide acquirer, the equivalent funds shall be seized from Serzh Sargsyan.
• From May 12, 2021, until the actual execution of the court decision, interest shall accrue on the deposit of 95 million drams in the specified deposit account with Araratbank, if it is impossible to recover the equivalent funds from Satenik Sargsyan, or, in the case of a bona fide acquisition, from Serzh Sargsyan.
• Interest shall accrue in the amount of 30,435,975 drams on the deposit invested in Araratbank on February 12, 2018, in the name of Rita Sargsyan, which legally belongs to Serzh Sargsyan and was inherited by Satenik Sargsyan, if it is impossible to recover the equivalent funds from Satenik Sargsyan.
• From May 12, 2021, until the actual execution of the court decision, interest will accrue on the amount of 30,435,975 drams held in the relevant account of Araratbank as income from property of illegal origin; if equivalent funds cannot be recovered from Satenik Sargsyan, or in the case of a bona fide acquisition, from Serzh Sargsyan.
• Apartment No. 64, Building 66, Teryan Street, Yerevan, owned by Satenik Sargsyan, as property legally owned by Serzh Sargsyan, will be seized in favor of the Republic of Armenia; if recovery is impossible, interest will be accrued from Serzh Sargsyan at the market value of the property in the amount of 260,900,000 drams.
• Parking lot No. 39, Teryan Street, Yerevan, if unable to do so, confiscate from Serzh Sargsyan the market value of said property in the amount of 10,660,000 drams.
• Parking lot No. 39, Teryan Street, Yerevan (note: two parking lots also have the number 39), if unable to do so, confiscate the market value of said property in the amount of 10,660,000 drams.
• Confiscate from Serzh Sargsyan, in favor of the Republic of Armenia, 165,854,249 drams as the remaining funds of illicit origin, extending the confiscation to also include funds held in commercial banks in the name of Rita Sargsyan during their marriage, as well as funds inherited by Satenik Sargsyan.
• 186 million 584 thousand 328 drams, not confirmed by the legal income of the person, are of illegal origin and cannot be confiscated, since they were transferred to a bona fide purchaser during the period 2006-2021 or cannot be identified and seized, which again extends the seizure to the funds kept in commercial banks in the name of Rita Sargsyan during their life together, as well as to the funds transferred to Satenik Sargsyan
Gsyan inherited the property.
According to the defendant, the prosecutor’s demand is illegal.