Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan was formally arrested on coup-related charges Wednesday, one day after publicly denouncing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s campaign against the leadership of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Karapetyan delivered his remarks Tuesday at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, in a show of support for Catholicos Garegin II—the head of the Church whom Pashinyan has reportedly sought to sideline. The Moscow-based tycoon accused the prime minister of launching an attack not just on the Church, but on the Armenian nation itself.
“Since I have always stood with the Armenian Church and the Armenian people, I will be directly involved,” Karapetyan told News.am. “If the politicians fail, then we will engage in our own way.”
Pashinyan responded with a flurry of social media posts, admitting that he had personally ordered law enforcement to act against Karapetyan. That same day, police attempted to search the tycoon’s villa in Yerevan but were confronted by his relatives and supporters. As the crowd outside the home swelled into the hundreds, masked National Security Service (NSS) officers refrained from entering and withdrew by the evening.
Karapetyan later emerged from the residence and was quietly escorted into police custody around 3 a.m. Hours later, Armenia’s Investigative Committee indicted him, claiming that his comments amounted to inciting a violent overthrow of the government.
His defense team rejected the accusation as politically motivated. “Anyone can watch that video and decide for themselves whether it contains a criminal threat,” said his lawyer, Liana Gasparyan.
Nonetheless, investigators petitioned a Yerevan court to authorize pre-trial detention. Following a six-hour hearing, the court approved the request.
“The decision is clearly unlawful,” Gasparyan told reporters, vowing to appeal.
Outside the courthouse, hundreds of supporters—including opposition figures and senior clerics—gathered in a show of solidarity with Karapetyan, who is known for his generous financial contributions to the Church. The businessman remained defiant, even as Pashinyan threatened to nationalize one of his major holdings, the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) utility.
“I will never abandon my principles or values, because they are rooted in Armenia—my love and respect for our homeland, our history, our Church,” Karapetyan said in a written statement. “Dear compatriots, I believe that we will unite and find a path out of the grave situation our country is in.”
The arrest sparked widespread outrage among opposition groups, who accuse Pashinyan of trying to remove Garegin II to curry favor with Azerbaijan or to eliminate a major source of resistance to his concessions in the ongoing peace process. The Mother See in Etchmiadzin also denounced the government’s actions, calling them “illegal” and demanding an end to the pressure campaign.
The Kremlin has taken notice. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow is “closely monitoring the situation,” while several Russian lawmakers condemned the prosecution of Karapetyan.
In response, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan criticized what he called “blatant interference” in Armenia’s internal affairs. Speaking before pro-government lawmakers, Mirzoyan revealed that Yerevan had delivered a formal note of protest to Moscow.
Karapetyan, 59, was born and raised in Armenia before relocating to Russia in the early 1990s. Over the next two decades, he built the Tashir Group—a sprawling conglomerate of more than 100 companies active in construction, manufacturing, retail, and energy. With assets valued at $4 billion by Forbes, Karapetyan is believed to be the world’s wealthiest ethnic Armenian.
