Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has launched criminal prosecution against former President Robert Kocharyan and nine other people over alleged abuse of official powers, bribery and large-scale money laundering. Kocharyan and his eldest son Sedrak Kocharyan were detained on August 25 as investigators carried out searches at their homes and other locations linked to the case. The Anti-Corruption Committee reported that ex-Yerevan mayor Gagik Beglaryan and five others are also charged.

Former President Serzh Sargsyan was also questioned by the Anti-Corruption Committee in connection with the proceedings. He has since been formally charged with abuse of official powers, adding to the similar abuse-of-power charges already brought against Kocharyan. After leaving the committee, Sargsyan declined to comment in detail, telling reporters that he would speak after receiving the case materials.

Kocharyan’s detention was followed by a medical incident. After feeling unwell, he was examined after emergency assistance was called and was subsequently taken to a medical facility. His office chief later said that Kocharyan had recently undergone a medical procedure and required further examination.

The investigation has involved Kocharyan’s family. A search of opposition MP Levon Kocharyan’s apartment lasted about six hours, after which investigators left with several bags of materials. Levon Kocharyan stated that the search was connected to his opposition activities and his disagreements with the current government.

Opposition figures have accused the government of using the investigation for political purposes. Opposition MP Sevak Khachatryan described the actions against Kocharyan’s family as political persecution and accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of directly ordering law enforcement to open cases and intimidate and repress the former president’s family.

Opposition MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan also accused Pashinyan of trying to introduce what he called Azerbaijan’s authoritarian model into Armenia. He alleged that the government was seeking to silence opposition forces through arrests and property seizures while pursuing territorial concessions and promoting the concept of a “Fourth Republic.”

The Armenia bloc, led by Kocharyan, rejected the proceedings as political persecution and linked the actions to Pashinyan’s remarks in parliament on August 24, when the prime minister criticized the wealth accumulated by Kocharyan and Sargsyan during their years in power.

Kocharyan’s lawyer, Aram Orbelyan, questioned the legal basis of the indictment, saying the case involved the ratification of government decisions made during Kocharyan’s presidency and contained serious legal shortcomings. He said the defence was assessing the proceedings in their entirety and would not speculate on whether they were directly connected to recent political statements.

The authorities have presented the proceedings as part of a broader anti-corruption investigation. Alongside the Kocharyan case, investigators have opened separate proceedings involving companies linked to his family and detained several company directors over alleged large-scale tax evasion.

The arrests, searches and prosecution of senior former officials mark a significant escalation in the confrontation between Pashinyan’s government and Armenia’s former leadership. The authorities frame the actions as criminal investigations into alleged corruption and property-related abuses, while Kocharyan’s political allies describe them as an effort to weaken and isolate the opposition.