Request Sent to Russia Regarding Karen Vanetsyan

The Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia has sent a request to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation for the extradition of Karen Vanetsyan, who is wanted by Armenian authorities for criminal prosecution. This information was provided to “Lurer” by the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia.

It is worth noting that on November 1, 2023, the prosecutor initiated public criminal proceedings against Karen Vanetsyan, a citizen of both the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Armenia, for the legalization of property acquired through criminal means (money laundering).

The investigation revealed that Vanetsyan, being the actual beneficiary of a non-resident entity registered in the Republic of Cyprus, acquired and managed 12.5% of the shares of “Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine” CJSC on July 23, 2018.

These shares, acquired through illegal means, were in fact owned by Mikayel Minasian, who served as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Armenia to the Holy See from 2013 to 2018, and were registered under the name of “Zangezur Mining” LLC. Vanetsyan's acquisition of the shares aimed to conceal their criminal origin and true nature.

Knowing that the 12.5% of the shares of “Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine” CJSC were transferred to an entity owned by Mikayel Minasian through illegal means, Vanetsyan intended to gain effective ownership of those shares under clearly advantageous conditions while simultaneously concealing and distorting the criminal origin, ownership, and management of the property, giving it the appearance of property acquired through legitimate civil transactions.

He had acquired and managed property of particularly large value, amounting to at least 14 billion 526 million 300 thousand drams, amounting to 1 billion drams and 13 million US dollars through an offshore company. During the preliminary investigation, it was not possible to ascertain Vanetsyan's whereabouts. A motion was filed with the Anti-Corruption Court for his detention as a measure of restraint.