International Search Warrant Issued for Aram Harutyunyan, Possible Location in Turkey

An international search warrant has been issued for Aram Harutyunyan, the former Minister of Environment of Armenia.

This was confirmed by the Armenian police in response to a question from the Armenian Times, adding that operational and investigative measures are being undertaken to locate him and present him to the investigative body.

According to some reports, Aram Harutyunyan is believed to be in Turkey with one of his associates involved in the case.

However, his lawyer Karen Hakobyan stated in an interview with the media that Aram Harutyunyan is, to his knowledge, in Armenia, dismissing the information about his presence in Turkey as gossip.

When asked whether the Investigative Committee is aware of Aram Harutyunyan's whereabouts, and if it is true that he is in Turkey, the spokesperson for the Investigative Committee, Marina Ohanjanyan, stated that they find it inappropriate to disclose the information they possess, given the interests of the investigation and the specifics of the criminal case.

It should be noted that Aram Harutyunyan has been involved as a defendant under part 4 of Article 311 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (receiving a bribe in especially large amounts, in this case, 14 million dollars) and part 3 of Article 190 (money laundering in especially large amounts). A search warrant has been issued for Harutyunyan, and the investigative body has submitted a petition to the court for his arrest, which has been granted.