Former MP Levon Sargsyan to be Extradited as Russia Approves Armenian Prosecutor's Request

Former MP Levon Sargsyan, known by the nickname 'Alraghatsi Lyovik', will be extradited to Armenia. This was reported by the advisor to the Prosecutor General, Gor Abrahamyan, who noted that the Russian Federation's Prosecutor General's Office has decided to grant the request of the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office for the extradition of the wanted Levon Sargsyan in order to initiate criminal prosecution against him.

According to Abrahamyan, the relevant authorities in the Russian Federation have been instructed to carry out the transfer of L. Sargsyan to the competent authorities of the Republic of Armenia after the extradition decision enters into legal force.

"In this regard, the Armenian Prosecutor General's Office has instructed the Armenian police to organize the transfer of L. Sargsyan," he wrote.

It should be reminded that Levon Sargsyan had been on the wanted list since October 1, 2018. He has been implicated as a defendant in a robbery that targeted the residence of former head of the State Revenue Committee, Armen Avetisyan, which was ordered for the purpose of committing theft of especially large amounts of property through an organized group, under Article 175, parts 1-2 of the Armenian Criminal Code (robbery), and Article 223, part 2 (participation in a criminal organization).

Sargsyan was identified and arrested on November 21, 2019, in Zelenograd, Moscow Region, Russia. On November 25, as a result of cooperation between the Prosecutor's Offices of Armenia and Russia, the Russian court approved the request of the Russian Prosecutor's Office to keep him in custody while discussing the extradition issue.