The detention of Sedrak Kocharyan, businessman and eldest son of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan, has been extended by another two months. The decision was issued by Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court, presided over by Judge Vardges Stepanyan.
According to the prosecutor’s motion in Sedrak Kocharyan’s case, he could obstruct the investigation if released, Sputnik Armenia reports.
Lawyer Aleksandr Kochubayev provided details of the case involving the former president’s son, stating that the court had not established reasonable suspicion in five of the seven alleged criminal episodes attributed to him.
“Previously, the court had not established the existence of reasonable suspicion. No additional information has now been presented to overcome the court’s earlier ruling. In other words, the court had rejected Sedrak Kocharyan’s alleged involvement in five of the seven episodes attributed to him. This means that additional supporting evidence should have been submitted regarding those episodes, but none has been provided. Those five episodes have also undergone appellate review,” Kochubayev said.
Addressing the money laundering charge, the defense lawyer pointed to legal and systemic issues from the perspectives of international economic law and domestic legislation. In his view, the offense of money laundering cannot exist without a preceding crime through which the property in question was acquired.
“First, there must be an underlying predicate offense through which property is acquired and subsequently legalized through money laundering. We see a problem in this respect as well. The motion is also being considered in the context of possible obstruction, which likewise cannot serve as adequate justification. The reason is that the relevant events took place in 2001, 2006 and 2009. Objectively speaking, it is unrealistic to argue that there is a likelihood of obstruction, especially when the dispute concerns documents and transactions,” Kochubayev said.
