Two Russian nationals were placed under house arrest after authorities uncovered separate attempts to bring large amounts of undeclared Russian rubles in cash into Armenia via Zvartnots International Airport — with one one carrying ₽65 million ($700,000), and another ₽7.6 million ($82,000).
According to the State Revenue Committee, which oversees customs, the cases were uncovered as part of ‘enhanced control over cash being transported across Armenia’s air and land borders’ carried out jointly with the National Security Service (NSS).
The agency said that ahead of the arrests, it had received information that Russian citizens, who were only identified by their initials, had conspired to bring a large amount of cash from Russia into Armenia.
The two were detained after arriving in Armenia a day apart from each other at Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport in recent days, but the exact dates were not published. According to Armenian authorities, they are relatives, though their exact relationship has not been disclosed.
The arrests come as Armenia gears up for parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 June, amid a series of detentions linked to alleged election bribery involving affiliates of Russian–Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party, as well as reports from Armenian authorities on foreign interference.
Armenian officials have recently warned of what they describe as a rise in foreign disinformation campaigns targeting the country, reportedly recording an average of 2–3 such campaigns per day. They have also pointed to Russian bot networks allegedly involved in their dissemination.
In March, the election observation group Independent Observer warned that an unnamed opposition party had reportedly booked a large number of buses to transport voters — primarily from Russia — for the 7 June elections.
Yousef Bardouka
Separately, on Thursday, Armenian authorities placed an affiliate of Karapetyan under investigation for allegedly bribing people to attend a rally in support of the opposition figure on 11 April in Yerevan. The unnamed suspect has only been identified as a municipal councillor from Lori province.
Another one of Karapetyan’s affiliates, Artur Avanesyan, went on hunger strike after he was placed under pre-trial detention over charges of electoral bribery earlier in April.
These cases are the latest of several investigations involving Karapetyan’s affiliates, which authorities say are related to alleged electoral bribery or inducement of participation in party rallies.
Public opinion surveys suggest Karapetyan’s alliance is expected to be the main challenger to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on 7 June.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
