Who is Gagik Tsarukyan? Armenia’s Business Tycoon and Politician Prosecuted

Armenia’s Court of Jurisdiction in Yerevan refused on June 22 to allow law-enforcement bodies to arrest Gagik Tsarukyan, a business tycoon and the leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia party.

On June 16, Armenia’s parliament voted to allow law-enforcement authorities to arrest and prosecute him. 

Tsarukyan is suspected of evading more than $60 million in taxes from his casinos. He is also accused of bribing voters in the 2017 parliamentary elections and of illegally taking over state land.

One of the last Armenian oligarchs now stands on the cliff’s edge. 

But, who is Gagik Tsarukyan?