Karen Vanetsyan's Legal Team Issues Statement

Businessman Karen Vanetsyan's legal team has issued a statement, which says: "Karen Vanetsyan is at liberty. Considering the fact that the criminal prosecution initiated against our client Karen Vanetsyan by the prosecuting authority (investigative committee) and the Office of the Prosecutor General has gained significant public attention, and that today information has been disseminated by media regarding the arrest of Karen Vanetsyan in the Russian Federation, we find it necessary to inform the following:

1. Karen Vanetsyan is at liberty, and the news circulating that he is in detention is not true.
2. Karen Roberti Vanetsyan has not been in the Republic of Armenia since September 14, 2021, and prior to that, he had not been present in Armenia for a long time. Therefore, he does not permanently reside in Armenia, engaging in significant entrepreneurial activities in several countries, including the Russian Federation.
3. The charge against Karen Vanetsyan, which was initiated by the prosecutor's decision on November 1, 2023, relates to money laundering; however, this is merely a presumption by the prosecutor's office and investigative body. For a presumption to become an indictment, there must be corroborating evidence or, more specifically, factual data. In this instance, the actions attributed to Karen Vanetsyan are either entirely unrelated to him theoretically and practically, or are of a general nature with no connection to criminal law.
4. The decision to impose detention as a preventive measure against Karen Vanetsyan, which contains numerous procedural and material violations, has been appealed to the Court of Cassation and therefore has not entered into legal force.

Businessman Karen Vanetsyan's legal team: Aram Vardevanyan, Arsen Babayan, Sos Hakobyan."

It is noteworthy that previously we reported that, according to Russian media, the brother of former Head of the National Security Service of Armenia, Arthur Vanetsyan, was arrested in central Moscow.