Investigation opened against Tsarukyan two days after elections

Businessperson Gagik Tsarukyan has been placed under investigation on charges of large-scale tax evasion just two days after the 7 June parliamentary elections. His  Prosperous Armenia party is still awaiting the outcome of vote recounts which will determine whether it enters parliament.

The Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Tuesday that Tsarukyan has also been placed under a travel ban.

The announcement followed reports in Armenian government-affiliated media that Tsarukyan had attempted to leave the country on Tuesday through Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport, but was prevented from doing so.

Separately, again on Tuesday, Armenian authorities placed two out of six wanted Strong Armenia MP candidates under pre-trial detention on suspicion of  alleged money laundering and the material inducement of voters.

An alleged photo of Gagik Tsarukyan at Zvartnots International Airport on 9 June 2026. Photo via ArmTimes.

The recounts are expected not only to determine whether Prosperous Armenia secures parliamentary representation, but could also influence the decisions of the two opposition groups — Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia Alliance and  ex-President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance — in whether or not to take up their seats.

On Tuesday, Narek Karapetyan, the lead candidate of Strong Armenia, said in a social media video that the alliance would wait to see whether Prosperous Armenia enters parliament before making a decision.

‘We will understand whether the opposition will have the opportunity to make its voice heard when it comes to electing the Prosecutor General and other officials’, Karapetyan said.

In turn, the Armenia Alliance announced on Tuesday that it would appeal to the Constitutional Court to challenge the results of the elections, saying it would present ‘substantial evidence’ once the final results are announced that the elections took place in ‘non-free and unfair conditions’.

‘At the moment, we are discussing our next steps with our partners in the opposition’, its leader, Kocharyan, announced on Monday. He did not specify which opposition group he was referring to, adding only that the alliance would announce its next steps after the consultations are concluded.

According to the preliminary results, the ruling Civil Contract party would receive 64 seats in parliament, Strong Armenia, 29, and the Armenia Alliance, 12.

Political scientist Narek Sukiasyan told OC Media that if Prosperous Armenia makes it into the Parliament then the ruling party will lose the 3/5 majority necessary for appointing and dismissing key executive and judicial positions and changing constitutional law such as on referendum or the electoral code.

‘This might motivate the other opposition forces to take up their mandates instead of boycotting the new convocation’, Sukiasyan said.

However, he argued that entering parliament could be ‘risky’ for them, ‘as it could lose the loyalty of several MPs, potentially allowing Civil Contract to secure the majority it seeks’.

Russia reportedly instructs its media to claim Pashinyan lost

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan continues to receive congratulations for his Civil Contract party’s victory in the parliamentary elections, though Russian President Vladimir Putin has notably not yet done so.

Instead, his Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov announced on Monday that the Kremlin was recording all reports of violations in the elections.

Ahead of the vote, Putin raised Russia’s desire for ‘pro-Russian’ groups to participate in the elections. At the same time, Russia imposed a series of restrictions on Armenian exports, which many saw as economic pressure to influence the election outcome.

Separately, Russian independent outlet Meduza, citing an employee of a major Kremlin-friendly media organization, reported that Russia’s presidential administration had instructed state-run and pro-government media to present the election results as a ‘loss’ for Pashinyan, specifically using that wording. According to the report, officials also recommended emphasising alleged election violations in order to ‘sow doubts about Pashinyan’s legitimacy’.

Meduza also published coverage of Russian media as evidence that these recommendations were reflected in reporting on the Armenian election.