News - The Investigative Committee — regarding the case of illegal distribution of narcotics related to Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan.

The Investigative Committee has issued a press release regarding a drug trafficking case connected with Archpriest Arshak Khachatryan, on the basis of which he was arrested and subsequently remanded in custody. “While summarizing the results of the main professional structural subdivisions, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee has, among other things, instructed to also re-examine, study, and actively pursue investigations into criminal proceedings conducted in previous years that were not disclosed.” As a result, a number of criminal proceedings from previous years have been revealed or have reached a procedural end (the murder of Vahram Khorkhoruni; illegal alienation of property belonging to the Republic of Armenia—assets of the Ministry of Defense and land plots adjacent to Isakov Boulevard in Yerevan and to the Yerablur Pantheon; abuse of official powers by the former head of Gyumri municipality, and with the involvement of his deputies, his son and a friend’s assistance, money laundering, and related cases). In this context, in the Investigative Committee’s Main Department for the Investigation of Especially Important Cases, a case initiated on July 20, 2018 under Part 1 of Article 266 of the former Armenian Criminal Code for the illicit distribution of a marijuana-type narcotic at the reception of the Mother See of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Etchmiadzin by an unknown person to H.A. has also been reexamined and studied. As a result of investigative and evidentiary measures, a suspected crime has been identified, and it has been established that S.K. (Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan, alias Samvel — group) entered into a prior agreement with his immediate subordinate deacon S.T. and another unidentified person, who on July 7, 2018, by exchanging actions with one another, illicitly distributed marijuana-type narcotics to participant H.A. in the following manner: Under S.K.’s instruction, the diaconal secretary S.T. photographed with a mobile phone the shoulder bag belonging to H.A. that was hanging in the diocese’s reception hall, then sent the photographed image to S.K. via the Viber app, after which the members of the criminal group placed marijuana-type narcotics into that shoulder bag, thereby illicitly distributing the marijuana-type narcotics to H.A. at the reception of the Mother See in Etchmiadzin. After the commission of these criminal acts, at S.K.’s instruction, S.T. called from his own number to the Vagharshapat police department of the Armavir regional administration and reported the possible presence of suspicious items among the participants, while simultaneously sending the photograph he had taken to a police officer; subsequently, during the search conducted by police officers, the marijuana illegally distributed to H.A. was found in the shoulder bag belonging to H.A. On December 4, 2025, the investigating authority submitted a motion to the prosecutor supervising the pretrial process to initiate public criminal prosecution against S.K. under Part 2, Items 1 and 4 of Article 266 of the former Armenian Criminal Code (corresponding to Part 2, Items 1 and 4 of Article 393 of the current Criminal Code) in relation to S.K. On the same day, the supervising prosecutor granted the submitted motion, and a decision was made to initiate public criminal prosecution against S.K. On December 4, he was arrested with a view to appearing in court. A petition to apply detention as a preventive measure was filed with the court and granted. Archpriest Arshak Khachatryan was remanded in custody for two months. The pretrial investigation is ongoing. Necessary investigative and evidentiary actions are being undertaken to establish all the circumstances of the case, as well as to give a criminal-law assessment to the actions of the other participants,” the press release states.