The Investigative Committee has released footage from the search of a mansion belonging to Gagik Khachatryan, former head of the State Revenue Committee and former finance minister, showing law enforcement officers at work and various sections of the yard and building.
Khachatryan has already been arrested for two months as part of a new criminal case initiated on charges of receiving bribes, squandering state funds, illegally alienating property, and concealing the origin of money, and it was during this case that a decision was made to search his apartment and adjacent areas.
The investigative body had applied to the court with a motion for arrest, which was granted, and now the former high-ranking official is not only facing these new charges but also a separate process is underway for the forfeiture of assets of illicit origin against him and his family members.
The search footage has already spread across the internet and sparked great public interest, as this is one of the first instances where such stringent investigative measures have been applied against a former official of this level.
This search is not an isolated episode; it shows that law enforcement agencies today are acting more decisively even against former top-ranking officials, something that was rarely seen before.
At the same time, attention is drawn to the timing coincidence—the initiation of the new criminal case, the arrest, and the property search are occurring almost simultaneously with the process concerning the forfeiture of illegally sourced assets, raising the question of whether these two proceedings are interconnected or are running in parallel.
Also unanswered is the question of what results were recorded during the search, as the Investigative Committee has only released footage without an official statement on what was found, so further clarifications should be expected in the coming days.
