The arrests followed searches conducted by various law-enforcement agencies in their homes and offices as well as the Strong Armenia alliance’s headquarters in Yerevan.
The Investigative Committee said 65 different locations were raided in the morning as it brought fraud, embezzlement and money laundering charges against Karapetian and 35 other persons. It claimed, in particular, that Karapetian led a “criminal group” that misappropriated over 23 billion drams ($64 million) from Armenia’s national electric utility owned by himself.
The Russian-Armenian tycoon already spent six months in prison last year on multiple criminal charges brought against him following his June 2025 condemnation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Armenian government controversially seized the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) operator at the time and is currently in the process of nationalizing it.
Karapetian, who has been under house arrest since December, smiled and waved to supporters chanting his name as masked officers of the National Security Service (NSS) escorted him out of his villa in Yerevan.
Armenia - Opposition leader Narek Karapetian speaks to journalists, Yerevan, October 27, 2026.
The Investigative Committee said a total of 36 persons will be arrested as part of the probe. It was not immediately clear whether Karapetian’s nephew and right-hand man Narek will be among them. The latter leads Strong Armenia’s parliamentary group, the second largest in the National Assembly. His Yerevan house was also raided by investigators.
“They will try to arrest dozens or hundreds of our people,” Narek Karapetian told reporters after the search. “We will go through the same process again.”
Karapetian claimed that the crackdown is part of Pashinian’s efforts to secure parliamentary approval of his draft of a new Armenian constitution. He said Strong Armenia will continue to oppose a referendum on the constitution which it believes is being imposed on the country by its arch-foe.
In a video address posted on social media later in the day, Narek Karapetian suggested that Pashinian will offer to free his uncle in return for Strong Armenia changing its position on the constitution. He ruled out such a deal.
“Adopting [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev’s constitution would denigrate Armenia’s national dignity,” he said. “It’s our people who must decide when and how to change their constitution. We are ready to go to jail as much as necessary.”
“Aliyev won’t stop until we show that we won’t make concessions anymore,” added Karapetian Jr. “Only then would he make peace.”
Pashinian’s Civil Contract party lacks a two-thirds majority in the Armenian parliament required for holding the constitutional referendum. Pashinian repeated on Monday his threats to generate “public pressure” on Strong Armenia and another opposition bloc represented in the parliament, Hayastan, if they continue to block the vote.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a news briefing in Yerevan, October 29, 2026.
The premier warned last week that if they do not bow to that pressure he will initiate snap parliamentary elections and bar them from participating in such polls. Both Strong Armenia and Hayastan dismissed his threats.
“Out of fear, Pashinian has ordered new searches and arrests to be carried out,” Karapetian’s bloc said in a statement. “He fears that Strong Armenia will prevail in this struggle for independence because the people are on our side.”
Senior representatives of Hayastan and another major opposition group, the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), echoed these claims on Wednesday. Their respective top leaders, former President Robert Kocharian and businessman Gagik Tsarukian, were arrested following disputed parliamentary elections held in June.
“I express the unconditional support and solidarity of our team for Samvel and Narek Karapetian and for Strong Armenia,” said Suren Sureniants, a Tsarukian ally.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Arpine Sargsian denied any political motives behind the latest arrests and searches when she spoke at a meeting in the parliament. She described them as “standard legal processes” in response to serious concerns voiced by a Hayastan lawmaker.