Gagik Tsarukyan Rejects Proposal to Halt Criminal Proceedings, Lawyer Says

The president of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan, has refused a proposal to halt criminal proceedings against him based on the expiration of the statute of limitations. This information was shared on social media by his lawyer, Emin Khachatryan.

“During the preliminary investigation stage, the authority conducting the criminal proceedings offered Gagik Tsarukyan to suspend the criminal prosecution due to the expiration of the statute of limitations; however, Gagik Tsarukyan objected to the request for suspension on that basis, insisting that he did not commit the alleged criminal offense described in the prosecution's decision and has requested the halt of the criminal proceedings based on the grounds of not having committed the act in question,” the lawyer wrote.

He emphasized that Gagik Tsarukyan's defense team has repeatedly stated that he has no connection to the alleged criminal act he is charged with.

“Not a single factual piece of evidence has been obtained in the criminal proceedings that would confirm Gagik Tsarukyan's involvement in bribing voters in connection with the alliances and candidates who participated in the April 2, 2017 elections,” Khachatryan noted.

Now that the criminal case has been sent to court, the lawyers are confident that the claims of the defense team will reach a wider audience during the public hearings, and Gagik Tsarukyan’s connection to the alleged criminal act will be refuted.

It is recalled that the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia announced today that it has substantiated that Gagik Tsarukyan and the director of Multi Group Concern, Sedrak Arustamyan, bribed voters during the April 2, 2017 elections. The indictment has been submitted to the Anti-Corruption Court along with the case materials.