Mihiran Poghosyan's Case Reaches Court: How Much is the Forfeitable Amount?

The former head of the State Revenue Committee, Mihiran Poghosyan, and related individuals are facing a demand for the forfeiture of illicitly obtained property, which has been accepted for consideration by the Anti-Corruption Court. The lawsuit sent by the Prosecutor's Office has been assigned to Judge Ashkhen Garslian.

Under the presiding of Ashkhen Garslian, the court will soon commence proceedings regarding the forfeiture demand of illegally acquired property from Mihiran Poghosyan and seven other associated individuals.

Among those involved are the former official’s wife, Karine Mkhitaryan; his daughter, Lia Poghosyan; Antonio Ricardo Merino, a Spanish citizen and owner and CEO of the company “Catherine Group” affiliated with the former head of the State Revenue Committee; Gagik Badalyan, the executive director of “Catherine Group”; Edward Harutyunyan, a shareholder of the “Kecharis” hotel in Tsaghkadzor associated with Mihiran Poghosyan; director Arthur Tadevosyan; and Gohar Nazaryan, the director of the “Kecharis Gardens” hotel complex.

According to the criminal case initiated against Mihiran Poghosyan, the former official is accused of embezzlement amounting to 568,830,000 AMD, or approximately $1.3 million, resulting from illegal entrepreneurial activities and tax evasion. He then allegedly laundered this money through his associated companies, disguising it as loans.

Specifically, in 2015, the funds were transferred to “Catherine Group” LLC’s bank account as interest-free financial support from a company registered in the offshore zone of the Republic of Panama. Later, the money was transferred in parts from “Catherine Group”’s account to other companies associated with Poghosyan, including “Kecharis,” “Kecharis Gardens,” and other accounts.

It should be noted that Mihiran Poghosyan is currently on the wanted list for allegations of large-scale theft of property and abuse of official position. On April 19, 2019, Poghosyan was discovered in Petrozavodsk, the Republic of Karelia, and arrested. On May 28, he was released and lived in a rented apartment in Petrozavodsk under the supervision of law enforcement.

On August 17, 2019, it became known that the Armenian Prosecutor General's request for Poghosyan’s extradition to Armenia was rejected by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation on grounds of impossibility.

In April 2022, a ban was imposed on the property of Mihiran Poghosyan, his wife, and daughter, as well as of individuals registered as owners and directors of companies associated with them.