A Criminal Case Has Been Launched Regarding the Concealment of Armen Sarkissian's Dual Citizenship

The President of the Bar Association of the Republic of Armenia, Ara Zohrabyan, states: "As you may recall, 53 lawyers submitted a report of a crime concerning the concealment of President Armen Sarkissian's dual citizenship. The Special Investigation Service had refused to launch a criminal case, against which we, as lawyers, filed a complaint.

I must inform you that, based on the appeal, the Prosecutor General's Office has REVERSED the decision of the SIS and has LAUNCHED a criminal case under Article 325, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code (forgery of documents, use, or circulation of forgery). The prosecutor's decision stated: 'In light of the aforementioned interpretations, it should be noted that the assumptions of the complainants are legitimate, namely that Armen Sarkissian did not terminate his citizenship of the United Kingdom in 2011, but rather after that, and no other objective factual data has been obtained regarding the contrary. Under these circumstances, there are reasonable doubts about the veracity of the provided information (application), meaning that there are sufficient grounds for initiating a criminal case under Article 325, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code.'