Samvel Karapetyan was transferred from the National Security Service of Armenia`s pretrial detention center to house arrest

ArmInfo. Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian businessman of Armenian descent and head of the Tashir Group of Companies, was transferred this afternoon from the Kentron penal facility, under the jurisdiction of the National Security Service of Armenia, to his Yerevan mansion under house arrest.

Several dozen citizens greeted the businessman at his mansion. One of the businessman's lawyers, Aram Vardevanyan, told reporters that restrictions on public appearances and statements have been lifted, but certain restrictions related to contact remain.

The lawyer also stated that Karapetyan continues to require inpatient treatment after contracting pneumonia in the pretrial detention facility and coronavirus, and his lawyers will begin organizing this process shortly.

As a reminder, the Criminal Court of Appeals, by its decision of January 17, changed Samvel Karapetyan's pretrial detention to house arrest. It is noteworthy that Karapetyan was remanded in custody by another court decision on January 16. The lawyers called the incident a legal absurdity and accused the prosecution of "raping" the law and the rule of law. As a reminder, the businessman was detained on June 18, 2025, by law enforcement officers, and the court later remanded him in custody on charges of calling for the overthrow of the constitutional order due to his support for the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Later, the businessman was charged with money laundering. Notably, Karapetyan's arrest was preceded by threatening posts from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which lawyers view as an attempt to directly interfere with the investigation and law enforcement. Following Karapetyan's arrest, the authorities effectively took over the management of the Eclectic Networks of Armenia company from the Karapetyan family, appointing Romanos Petrosyan, a member of the Civil Contract party, as its manager. ENA was also stripped of its license.