Strong Armenia party members charged in vote bribery probe

Armenian law enforcement authorities Thursday detained 14 people connected to the pro-Russian Strong Armenia party on suspicion of electoral bribery. The country’s state news agency Armenpress reported this citing the Anti-Corruption Committee, which is in charge of the investigation.

The party’s legal representative Vahan Hovhannisyan told Armenpress that at least two of those detained have so far been formally charged with vote buying, allegedly linked to violations of a ban on charitable activities by political forces ahead of elections. He argued, however, that the cases should be treated as illegal shadow employment rather than electoral bribery, admitting that those detained were not officially registered as campaign staff and were receiving payments off the books.

Party spokesperson Marianna Ghahramanyan said 15 people had initially been detained, adding that the number was rising. She described the case as fabricated and said some lawyers had been blocked from entering the Anti-Corruption Committee building to represent their clients.

Hovhannisyan added that attorneys were initially denied access and were only able to enter after contacting Armenia’s Human Rights Defender.

The development follows the arrest of five other individuals from the same opposition party late last month on similar accusations, as well as separate detentions in recent weeks. In previous cases, authorities alleged that one of the party’s campaign offices concealed bribes as salaries, hiring voters with large families and wider social networks. They were said to be pressured to vote for the party in the upcoming June elections while also convincing relatives and acquaintances to support it.

The Strong Armenia party is led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is currently on trial facing charges including alleged calls for violent change of government, money laundering, and tax evasion. Despite his ongoing legal proceedings and foreign citizenship status, the party has nominated him as its candidate for prime minister. Karapetyan holds Russian, Armenian, and Cypriot citizenship, which makes him ineligible for office.

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During a court session yesterday, Karapetyan announced that he had “begun the process of waiving” his Russian and Cypriot citizenships. Renouncing Russian citizenship is a convoluted legal process that typically takes at least six to 12 months and requires multiple administrative steps, including in-person submission in Russia or at a consulate, so it is unclear how the process could have been formally initiated under Karapetyan’s current house arrest conditions.