Opposition tycoon Tsarukyan stripped of casino license

By Siranush Adamyan

Armenia has revoked the operating license of Shangri La, the country's largest casino, run by a company owned by opposition leader and businessman Gagik Tsarukyan. The move is the latest in a series of state actions against him since the June 7 parliamentary election.

Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan announced the decision on his Facebook page on Monday, publishing an order that declares void the gambling license held by Onira Club LLC, the firm that operates the Shangri La complex outside Yerevan. Onira Club is widely reported to belong to Tsarukyan and his family.

The order cites a State Revenue Committee inspection that, according to the document, identified inconsistencies between the figures recorded by the casino's gambling machines and the data the company reported to tax authorities. Papoyan signed the order for immediate execution, citing the protection of consumers' interests. Onira Club can appeal the decision administratively within two months or in court.

The license was first issued in 2014. The casino, reportedly built at a cost of about $150 million, has long been one of Armenia's largest taxpayers.

The revocation comes after weeks of escalating government pressure on Tsarukyan during and after the campaign. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced plans to take state control of the Ararat Cement plant, described as the core of Tsarukyan's business, citing an alleged illegal privatization scheme. Prosecutors opened a criminal case over the plant's privatization on May 7 on charges of abuse of official powers and money laundering.

On the campaign trail, Pashinyan also said Tsarukyan's mansion would be turned into a care center for the elderly. He pledged to bring to justice and imprison the three main opposition leaders: Tsarukyan, former President Robert Kocharyan, and businessman Samvel Karapetyan.

Two days after the vote, prosecutors opened an investigation into Tsarukyan on charges of large-scale tax evasion and imposed a travel ban. The Prosecutor General's Office announced the measures on June 9, after pro-government outlets reported that Tsarukyan had been stopped from leaving the country at Yerevan's Zvartnots airport. A deputy chief of Pashinyan's staff said Tsarukyan was trying to flee to avoid accountability. His party said the trip was a pre-planned family visit.

Tsarukyan rejects the accusations, arguing that authorities began questioning the legality of the cement plant's privatization only after more than two decades of operation. He has also accused the government of conducting the election campaign in an atmosphere of fear and unlawful pressure. Prosperous Armenia won 3.99% of the vote in the June 7 election and was left out of parliament after a controversial decision by the Central Electoral Commission to annul the results from several polling stations without ordering repeat voting, depriving the party of a chance to gain the votes needed to clear the four-percent threshold. Since then, the party has staged protests and vowed further action against what it describes as politically motivated measures by the authorities. 

Also read: Election results confirmed, controversial ruling leaves Prosperous Armenia out of legislature

This is not the first time Tsarukyan's casino has lost its license. In 2020, weeks after he called for Pashinyan's resignation, security services searched his home, and the government stripped Shangri La of its license over alleged illegal commercial activity. A court later overturned that decision, and in 2022, the government covered millions of dollars in the casino's tax arrears.