Criminal embezzlement proceedings have been initiated against Alexander “Sashik” Sargsyan, brother of former Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan.

Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) informed Hetq that Sargsyan, from 2001-2018, coerced the heads of the Military Police Department to register individuals who worked as bodyguards and drivers for him as employees of the military police. However, these individuals did not report for duty, and the money was withdrawn in their names.

The PGO has launched a search for Sargsyan who is not in Armenia.

After the 2018 change of government in Armenia, law enforcement focused their attention on Alexander Sargsyan and his two sons Hayk and Narek.

Alexander Sargsyan and three individuals with him were taken into custody in June 2018 on suspicion of illegal arms possession.

Hetq, in 2019, revealed that Sargsyan sold his mansion in Los Angeles for about $2 million that year. Sargsyan purchased the house in 2007 while serving in Armenia’s parliament.

The controversial businessman claimed to have made his fortune in Russia, where he lived from 1985-1995. Others allege that Alexander Sargsyan used his brother’s influence (Serzh Sargsyan was first Armenia’s defense minister, then prime minister and finally president) to enrich himself.

Sargsyan’s two sons have been implicated in several illegal arms and drug investigations.