Armenian authorities have detained former President Robert Kocharyan as part of a major corruption investigation involving alleged abuse of presidential power and the acquisition of valuable state-owned properties at prices significantly below market value.

Kocharyan, who served as Armenia’s president from 1998 to 2008, was taken to the Anti-Corruption Committee on Tuesday as investigators carried out searches and other procedural actions at several dozen locations connected to the former president and his family.

Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee said investigators believe Kocharyan, while in office, acted in cooperation with people close to him to obtain valuable properties that had been removed from state ownership through allegedly fictitious grounds. The properties were then reportedly sold at prices substantially below their market value. Six people have been detained in connection with the investigation, according to Armenian authorities.

Kocharyan’s eldest son, Sedrak Kocharyan, has also been detained, while law-enforcement officials conducted searches involving other members of the family, including opposition lawmaker Levon Kocharyan.

The arrests come amid heightened political tensions between the Kocharyan family and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Kocharyan remains a prominent opposition figure and leads the Armenia Alliance. The latest investigation adds to a long-running series of legal and political disputes surrounding the former president since he left office.

Authorities have not yet announced the full scope of the allegations or the next legal steps. The accusations remain allegations, and any eventual criminal liability would have to be established through Armenia’s judicial process.

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