A new criminal prosecution has been launched against prominent businessman and Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan for failure to comply with a court decision, under Article 507(1) of Armenia’s Criminal Code. The public prosecution began on October 27, 2025, based on proceedings initiated on June 5, 2024, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, reports Pastinfo.

The case involves the sale of property under a freezing order, connected to a lawsuit aimed at confiscating assets of illegal origin.

On August 4, 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Department for Illegal Asset Confiscation petitioned the Anti-Corruption Court to freeze assets belonging to Tsarukyan, including 98.03% of a Bulgarian-registered company — Gorna Banya Bottling Company — owned by him and his wife.

The court granted the request on August 10, 2023, barring any actions involving the company shares. Tsarukyan was formally notified on August 24, 2023.

However, authorities later learned that on March 15, 2024, despite the freeze order, Tsarukyan and his wife sold the shares for €23.85 million through an authorized representative. This action violated the Anti-Corruption Court’s decision, the prosecution states.

A travel ban has been imposed on Tsarukyan as a precautionary measure.

This is not the first case involving the sale of frozen assets. In another instance, former PM Hovik Abrahamyan’s mansion was mysteriously sold overnight to pro-government oligarch Narek Nalbandyan. That sale has not led to any accountability within the Anti-Corruption Committee or the Prosecutor’s Office.