Billionaire businessman Samvel Karapetyan, who resides in Russia, has been officially charged with making a public call to seize power, according to his lawyer Armen Feroyan.

Another defense attorney, Liana Gasparyan, stated that according to their information, the investigator has petitioned to detain Karapetyan, reports “Azatutyun”.

The lawyers argue the accusation is unlawful and insist that Karapetyan does not accept the charges brought against him.

“Anyone can watch the video and judge for themselves whether it constitutes a crime,” the lawyer said.

Supporters of the businessman have gathered outside the Investigative Committee building.

So far, the Investigative Committee has not issued any official comments regarding the case.

On the night of June 18, businessman Samvel Karapetyan left his residence in Yerevan with law enforcement. Hours earlier, he had made a statement in support of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“I stand with our Church and our people. No matter how much they try to tarnish it—neither the power grid nor those behind it matter to me. Everything will be fine, and the people will speak up. They will realize their mistake,” Karapetyan said.

Responding to Karapetyan’s remarks, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote: “Why have the morally corrupt ‘clergy’ and their morally corrupt ‘benefactors’ become active again? No matter—we’ll silence them again. For good this time.” He later added that the power grid should be quickly nationalized.