Factor.am: Mikael Minasyan Summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office: Who Else Is Listed in the Same Proceedings With Him
On October 9, Mikael Minasyan, Armenia’s former ambassador to the Vatican, who has not been in Armenia for nearly six years and is wanted, was summoned to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia. The Prosecutor’s Office intends to recover from him and persons associated with him property of alleged unlawful origin.
As Factor.am reports, by comparing published notices, court documents, and information from open sources, it was possible to establish which property is being referred to, who else is listed in the same proceedings, and what connections exist between these people.
Nikol Pashinyan had already announced his intention to recover Mikael Minasyan’s allegedly unlawfully acquired property on June 4, during the final pre-election debates. “As for Serzh Sargsyan’s son-in-law, Mishik, today we are returning Mishik’s illegally acquired property,” the Prime Minister said. However, at that time, no details about Minasyan’s property were publicly available. Only on September 29 did notices concerning Minasyan and people associated with him begin appearing one after another on the official public notices website.
A Stake in Shant and Classmate Aram Mnatsakanyan
Among those summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office is Aram Mnatsakanyan, Mikael Minasyan’s classmate, who owns 48% of the shares in Shant television company. In addition, he is the sole owner of Merian Group LLC, which engages in the wholesale trade of pharmaceutical products.
Back in 2025, the Prosecutor’s Office reported that Aram Mnatsakanyan, Mikael Minasyan, and another person had attempted, by prior agreement, to conceal the actual origin and ownership of a 48% stake in Shant LLC.
According to a statement by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the investigation established that Mnatsakanyan, acting in prior agreement with Minasyan and L. A., had engaged in money laundering: he acquired, used, actually owned, and exercised control over property on an especially large scale that had been obtained through criminal means. According to the prosecution’s version, information about the criminal origin of the property, its ownership, its actual nature, and its source of origin was concealed and distorted.
In the Yerevan Mall Case — Director Vazrik Sekoyan
Also among those summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office is Vazrik Sekoyan, the general director of Yerevan Mall, who previously headed PanArmenian Media Group. He also appears in one of the criminal cases connected with Mikael Minasyan.
According to the charges, in 2013 Sekoyan was appointed director of Shin Tavr, a company that later came to be known as Yerevan Mall. In 2019, a transaction was registered in his name for the sale of a 30% stake in Yerevan Mall, owned by MLRE LTD, valued at approximately 3.2 billion drams. The Prosecutor’s Office considers this transaction fictitious.
According to the account of the factual circumstances of the case, Mikael Minasyan, Armine Asratyan, Leonid Arevshatyan, Arshak Poghosyan, and Vazrik Sekoyan, as part of an alleged criminal organization, concealed the origin and movement of 3 billion 124 million 800 thousand drams. According to the prosecution’s version, the money was moved through the accounts of four organizations and documented under various contracts, after which it was transferred to Shin Tavr LLC as payment for stakes in the company. Arshak Poghosyan then transferred, and Vazrik Sekoyan acquired, stakes in the company that had already been renamed Yerevan Mall, concealing their actual ownership.
Shadow Management of SI Holding
A notice summoning Tigran Egoyan to the Prosecutor’s Office has also been published. According to the account of the charges, he was among the most trusted participants in the alleged criminal organization led by Mikael Minasyan and Leonid Arevshatyan, and took part in the shadow management structure that had formed within SI Holding.
According to the case materials, meetings at the company discussed the current activities of organizations, the acquisition and transfer of property, the management of financial flows, the distribution of profits, as well as issues involving the initiation of legislative changes through officials. The documents also mention the issue of “completing the money laundering.”
According to the account of the charges, minutes of meetings were sent from the email account of Leonid Arevshatyan’s assistant, Meri Grigoryan, to Mikael Minasyan, Leonid Arevshatyan, Tigran Egoyan, Armen Petrosyan, Roza Stepanyan, Bagrat Sargsyan, Vazrik Sekoyan, and other people.
Advertising Company MIS and Questions About Television Audience Measurement
Tigran Safaryan has also been summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office. He has been associated with the advertising company Media International Service (MIS) for many years. In a directory from 2014, he is listed as the company’s general director, while in the declaration of actual beneficiaries for 2025, he is identified as its 100% ultimate beneficiary since 2013.
Media Ownership Monitor presents MIS as a company linked to Mikael Minasyan. According to media publications, MIS, PanArmenian Media Group, and Admospher were regarded as parts of a media and advertising system associated with Minasyan.
During the relevant period, Admospher was the only company in Armenia conducting television audience measurements. However, a number of market participants questioned the reliability of its data. An international audit conducted in 2022 concluded that the company’s measurement system did not comply with international standards.
Anush Minasyan Also Summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office
Among those summoned is also Mikael Minasyan’s wife, Anush Minasyan, the daughter of Armenia’s third president, Serzh Sargsyan.
In August 2023, Mikael Minasyan was charged with money laundering on an especially large scale in the Dzoraget Hydro case. Armen Petrosyan is also involved in the same case, and the Prosecutor’s Office has also examined materials concerning him.
According to the account of the factual circumstances of the case, despite being prohibited from engaging in entrepreneurial activity, Minasyan personally, as well as through his associates Armen Petrosyan and Leonid Arevshatyan, participated in the management of a company founded in 2010 until 2016. According to the prosecution’s version, property on an especially large scale, obtained through criminal means as a result of unlawful activity, was thereby legalized.
What Happens Next?
As Factor.am reports, the list of people summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office may be incomplete. Those invited may familiarize themselves with the materials collected following the examination of the case, present their position, and submit declarations.
Whether Mikael Minasyan will appear at the Prosecutor’s Office remains an open question, given that he has not been in Armenia for many years and is wanted. While questions about his current whereabouts and the possibilities of bringing him to justice remain unresolved, the former ambassador periodically reminds the public of his presence by publishing analytical materials about Armenia’s political life and critical videos about Nikol Pashinyan’s government.
The published notices and case materials reveal new details about businesses, media structures, and financial transactions associated with Minasyan. The results of the Prosecutor’s Office’s examination of the materials and further developments in the process of possible confiscation of property will show the scale of the assets involved and what decisions will be made regarding their ownership.