Days after former President Serzh Sargsyan vowed to continue his fight for regime change, Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals overturned his recent acquittal and ordered a retrial in a long-running corruption case.
The case stems from a 2013 fuel procurement deal during Sargsyan’s presidency, in which prosecutors allege he helped a close associate secure a government contract, causing the state over $1 million in damages. Sargsyan and his co-defendants were acquitted in May 2024, but the judge who delivered the ruling was later removed from the judiciary.
The 70-year-old Republican Party leader has long denounced the charges as politically driven. Despite being eligible to invoke the statute of limitations, he refused, demanding full acquittal to clear his name. Even if convicted, he would not face prison time due to the expired statute.
The decision to reopen the case comes amid heightened political rhetoric. Earlier this week, Sargsyan slammed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government as deceitful and “capitulatory,” renewing calls to oust it. Pashinyan, in turn, has stepped up verbal attacks against both Sargsyan and fellow ex-president Robert Kocharyan.
Adding fuel to the fire, prosecutors recently filed new charges against Sargsyan related to a 2005 land privatization deal during his tenure as defense minister.
The reopening of his case marks another escalation in Armenia’s deepening political divide, as legal battles increasingly overlap with the country’s struggle over its future direction.
