Criminal Case Against Notorious Figure Known as 'Tuy' Suspended

The criminal case against Arthur Ghazaryan, a notorious figure known by the nickname 'Tuy,' has been suspended. This information was confirmed to ‘Factinfo’ by the acting head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Investigative Committee, Naira Harutyunyan. 'The proceedings of the criminal case were suspended in March, based on point 1 of part 1 of Article 31 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia,' Harutyunyan stated.

It should be noted that Article 31 of the Criminal Procedure Code defines the grounds for suspending a case, and based on the mentioned point, a case may be suspended if the person who should be involved as a defendant is unknown.

This case stems from a complaint filed by citizen Arman Hakobyan on July 13, 2018, at the headquarters of the RA Police. He reported that in 2013, Arthur Ghazaryan, known as 'Tuy,' along with Yuri Yeremyan and 7-8 other men, kidnapped him with the assistance of a criminal figure identified as 'Artyom of Saratov.' They held him captive for 7-8 hours, assaulted him, and threatened him with death to relinquish his share of a bakery business, offering him $150,000 in return. Hakobyan stated that he was forced to comply with their demands but was only paid $10,000.

According to Hakobyan, at the end of December 2012, Yuri Yeremyan informed him that Gevorg Andreasyan, his wife's brother, had borrowed $60,000 from him and requested that he come to the 'National' hotel on Amiryan Street in Yerevan for discussions about its repayment. Hakobyan refused, explaining that he bore no responsibility for the money that Gevorg had taken. However, Yeremyan insisted that he was summoned by the criminal figure Artyom, known in the criminal world as 'Artyom of Saratov.' The following day, Hakobyan arrived at the hotel at the agreed time, where he was confronted by Artyom, Tuy, Yeremyan, and Gevorg Andreasyan. At the hotel, Artyom told him that Yeremyan no longer wanted to work with him and demanded a final settlement and payment for Yeremyan's owed share. Subsequently, Hakobyan and Yeremyan reached an agreement, determining that his share was equivalent to $120,000, which he promised to pay. However, Yeremyan changed his mind, and they continued working together until March 2013.

In early March 2013, Yeremyan called Hakobyan, inviting him to the bakery under the pretext of finalizing the terms for leaving the business. Around 8:00 PM, he went to the bakery, where after a few minutes of conversation with Yeremyan, Tuy and 7-8 men stormed in. Tuy, using profanity, assaulted Hakobyan and demanded he go with them. Hakobyan refused, after which Tuy and the men held his arms, forcibly seating him in a car and taking him to a hotel called 'Lilit' or 'Lilia' located on Tbilisi Highway in Yerevan. At the hotel, Tuy continued to assault him, stating that Yeremyan had changed his mind and no longer wanted to exit the partnership. Hakobyan refused to comply, after which Tuy threatened him with a knife, asserting he would kill him if he did not acquiesce. Subsequently, Hakobyan was forced to agree, but Tuy continued to keep him captive and beat him until dawn. The next day, Hakobyan, along with his wife and Yeremyan, transferred full ownership of the bakery and all its assets to Yeremyan at a notary's office.

On July 23, 2018, a criminal case was initiated at the RA Police’s TBP Directorate under Article 131 (parts 1, 2, and 7) and Article 182 (part 2) of the RA Criminal Code, including charges of kidnapping an individual through dangerous violence or threat thereof and extortion of a substantial amount.