On June 17, Samvel Karapetyan, the Russian businessman and head of the Tashir Group, was reportedly detained in Yerevan by special forces following his public support for the Armenian Apostolic Church, though conflicting accounts later emerged regarding his actual detention status.
During his statement, Karapetyan criticized a small group for attacking the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian people, declaring, "What opinion should I have if a small group, forgetting the history of Armenia, the thousand-year history of the Armenian Church, attacked the Church, the Armenian people?" He expressed hope that politicians would intervene, adding that if they failed, he and others would act independently, promising, "If politicians fail, we will participate in our own way."
On the same day, the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs launched a search of Karapetyan’s residence in Yerevan, while local media initially reported his detention by special forces shortly after his statements. However, the Interior Ministry later denied his formal detention, while his brother, Karen Karapetyan, claimed he was still at home but could be detained at any moment.
In response to the situation, Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, issued a harsh warning to Karapetyan and his supporters on social media, declaring, "This is not the village of Nizhny Tapr in Kaluga. This is the Republic of Armenia. I hope the taste of the state will remain in your mouth."
Following the incident, Karapetyan told RT that authorities attempted to stage a "masquerade" and arrest him, but ordinary citizens who gathered in his courtyard resisted, while confirming that his street remained blocked by security forces. According to his brother Karen, more than 45 people were detained at Karapetyan’s residence during the events.
On June 18, Samvel Karapetyan left his home in Yerevan and entered a police car early in the morning. At around 03:00 AM (local time), Karapetyan departed his residence accompanied by the deputy chief of police. After leaving his mansion, he spoke to journalists, stating, "My message is the same—I stand with our church, I stand with our people. No matter how much they try to discredit me, I don’t care about them or their power grid—everything will be fine. The people will have their say anyway, and they will realize that they were wrong," Karapetyan emphasized.
Supporters of Samvel Karapetyan gathered on Nalbandyan Street in front of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. During the morning, Karen Karapetyan and his son, Narek Karapetyan, recently left the police station.
Notably, Samvel Karapetyan is a prominent Russian-Armenian billionaire and the founder of the Tashir Group, a diversified conglomerate with significant investments in real estate, energy, retail, and infrastructure. Born on August 18, 1965, in Tashir, Armenia, he moved to Russia in the 1990s, where he established his business empire. The Tashir Group is one of Russia’s largest commercial real estate developers, owning over 1.1 million square meters of commercial space, including 16 "Rio" shopping malls across Russia and Armenia. In addition to his business ventures, Karapetyan is a significant investor in Armenia, owning major assets such as the Electric Networks of Armenia and Dalma Garden Mall in Yerevan. Karapetyan’s wealth has been recognized internationally; Forbes ranked him among Russia’s wealthiest individuals, with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion. He was also included in the U.S. Treasury Department’s 2018 "Putin List," which identified individuals with close ties to the Russian government.