The Investigative Committee told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the raid resulted from criminal charges leveled against Narek Karapetian more than a week ago. It gave no other details.
Karapetian condemned the search as politically motivated and said that investigators did not confiscate anything from his mansion.
“The reason for all this is our engagement in politics, there is no other reason,” he told reporters. “We have to engage in politics in our country because it is on the wrong track.”
Karapetian’s home was already searched last year following the arrest of his uncle and billionaire businessman Samvel Karapetian, who set up the opposition force later in the 2025. Strong Armenia finished second in the June 7 parliamentary elections, according to official vote results rejected by it and other opposition groups as fraudulent.
Despite the fraud allegations, it decided to take up its 29 seats in the 105-member National Assembly that will hold its inaugural session on Sunday. Narek Karapetian topped the list of the bloc’s election candidates and is also expected to lead its parliamentary group.
The 36-year-old is accused of laundering money and paying people to attend Strong Armenia rallies. The Investigative Committee has still not shed light on the accusations denied by him. The law-enforcement agency has said only that they are part of a criminal case against Aleksan Aleksanian, another prominent member of Samvel Karapetian’s political team who was arrested ahead of the June 7 elections.
Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) allowed prosecutors to indict but not arrest Narek Karapetian on July 22. The CEC said he already enjoys parliamentary immunity from arrest.
It is not clear whether the prosecutors will ask the incoming parliament controlled by the ruling Civil Contract party to lift that immunity. Karapetian said on Friday that he is not worried about such a possibility.
“Let them do what they want,” he said. “It will not influence [Strong Armenia.] It will have opposite effects.”
Hundreds of other opposition members and supporters have been detained on election-related charges in recent months. At least 50 of them remain in custody and 48 others under house arrest.
Two of them, Davit Ghazinian and Hayk Sukiasian, were also elected to the parliament on the Strong Armenia ticket. They were released from custody last week because of that.