Searches at 65 properties
Officers searched 65 properties simultaneously on November 4, including residences and business premises. Among them were the homes of Karapetyan, who leads the opposition Strong Armenia Party and heads Tashir Group, and his nephew Narek Karapetyan, leader of Strong Armenia's parliamentary faction.
ENA Management Board member Vardan Makaryan was detained during the searches, APA reported. Makaryan previously led the presidential administration under Serzh Sargsyan and also held that role during Armen Sargsyan's presidency.
The Investigative Committee divided the alleged damage into three amounts: AMD 36.981 billion, AMD 23.158 billion and AMD 4.445 billion. It alleged that the AMD 23.158 billion was unlawfully taken out of ENA during 2024-2025 and distributed as dividends to shareholders Liormand Holdings Limited and Tashir Capital. A committee spokesperson described the overall losses as about 64.5 billion drams, or approximately $180 million.
Separate cases and the ENA ownership dispute
At the time of the announcement, Karapetyan was already under house arrest in separate criminal proceedings. According to ARKA, he was arrested on June 18, 2025, and has been under house arrest and bail since December 30, 2025.
Those proceedings include charges under five articles of Armenia's Criminal Code covering tax evasion, embezzlement, money laundering, illegal activity through a legal entity, and public calls to seize power and violently overthrow the constitutional order. ARKA reported that the public-calls charge followed Karapetyan's statement supporting the Armenian Apostolic Church and Catholicos Garegin II.
In another case involving Karapetyan and two other defendants, the Investigative Committee announced on March 27, 2026, that its preliminary investigation was complete. Investigators alleged a tax evasion scheme involving 1.8 billion drams, along with the fraudulent theft and laundering of 4.9 billion drams. The case was sent to the prosecutor for referral to court.
Armenian authorities also moved to nationalize ENA after Karapetyan's earlier arrest. LegalClarity reported that an emergency arbitrator at the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ordered a suspension of the nationalization in July 2025, but that the Armenian government did not comply.
Strong Armenia's political role
Karapetyan's Strong Armenia alliance placed second in the June 7, 2026, parliamentary elections, winning about 23% of the vote and 29 seats. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract won 49.7% and 64 seats.
Despite the criminal case, Strong Armenia nominated Karapetyan for prime minister. LegalClarity reported that his candidacy faces a constitutional eligibility obstacle: Article 148 requires a prime minister to have held only Armenian citizenship and lived in Armenia for at least four years. Karapetyan reportedly has dual citizenship and has lived mainly abroad.
