Minister says state to appoint manager for Tsarukyan's cement company this month

By Lia Avagyan

Armenia will appoint a state manager for AraratCement, one of the country's largest cement producers owned by jailed opposition businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, later this month after a court placed the company under temporary state management as part of an illicit asset forfeiture case.

Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said on Tuesday that the Anti-Corruption Court had transferred management of the company to the Ministry of Economy, which will appoint a manager in July to oversee its operations.

Papoyan urged employees to continue working normally, saying those who perform their duties conscientiously would retain their jobs. He said the government's priority is to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the plant.

The Anti-Corruption Court last week ordered AraratCement to be placed under state management after prosecutors argued that control of the company should be transferred to the state while courts consider a broader civil lawsuit seeking the confiscation of assets allegedly acquired through illicit means.

Also read: Court places Tsarukyan's cement company under state management.

The forfeiture case was filed in October 2023 against Tsarukyan and related parties. Prosecutors are seeking the confiscation of AraratCement shares, stakes in dozens of companies, 75 real estate properties, 42 vehicles and 105.9 billion drams (about USD 286 mn) in assets they allege were obtained illegally.

The latest development follows Tsarukyan's arrest on July 6 on fraud and money laundering charges, after police conducted searches at businesses linked to him and his family. He has denied wrongdoing, while his lawyers say the charges are politically motivated.

Tsarukyan, one of Armenia's wealthiest businessmen and the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia party, returned to frontline politics ahead of the June parliamentary election. His party narrowly failed to enter parliament after falling below the four percent threshold required for representation.

The takeover of AraratCement marks the second time under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government that the state has assumed temporary control of a major privately owned strategic asset during legal proceedings involving a prominent opposition figure. Last year, parliament approved legislation allowing the government to take temporary control of Electric Networks of Armenia, the country's sole electricity distributor, after its owner, Samvel Karapetyan, was arrested.

Karapetyan has since entered politics and is the de facto leader of Strong Armenia, the largest opposition faction in parliament, although he does not personally hold a parliamentary seat.