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The charges against Gurgen Khachatryan, the co-founder of Galaxy Group of Companies and chairman of the board of directors at Ucom, is a flagrant interference by the state in the right of free economic activity and private life of a person, the Khachatryans' legal team said in a statement.

Below is the full text of the statement:

“Yesterday, April 29, Gurgen Khachatryan received a notice to appear before the investigative body. While getting the notice, afterwards according to the lawyer's written application, Gurgen Khachatryan noted that he will appear in a few hours for a good reason. However, in the evening a motion was filed to the court to detain Gurgen Khachatryan. The Legal Team learned about it from the investigator.

After receiving voluminous materials, the lawyers asked for a reasonable amount of time to get acquainted with the materials and to get ready for the defense properly. But in fact, without waiting for the court hearing, large-scale investigations have already started today, so we express our concern about the legality of these investigations.

It’s important to mention that Gurgen Khachatryan was already charged and as a precautionary measure was chosen signature bond to not leave the country. Now the accusation has been changed and added with an episode that cannot be criticized. According to the new indictment, Gurgen Khachatryan supported taking bribes, while it is clear from both the case file and the explanations that the amount mentioned in the indictment is a loan, the loan agreement is still in force and must be returned at the end of the term. We will not provide additional information due to the obligation to maintain pre-investigative secrecy.

It’s necessary to point out that this accusation is a flagrant interference by the state in the free economic activity and private life of a person. Considering the official statements made by the Government of the Republic of Armenia (posts made by the Prime Minister's Spokesman) yesterday, we consider the mentioned process exclusively in the light of deprivation and forced redistribution of property.

As a matter of fact, the actions against the Khachatryan family, the imprisonment of Gagik and Karen Khachatryans as “hostages” are not measures taken to effectively investigate the criminal case, to prevent hiding from the investigation or to ensure an alternative way for the proper behavior of persons, but are illegal actions for vested interests.

Earlier on April 28, Gurgen Khachatryan reported about direct and indirect demands (including during meetings) that were made on him from high-ranking officials of the country to alienate Ucom with a non-profit offer accompanied by public pressure. He was told that if he did not agree, he would be accused of committing a particularly serious crime and would be arrested. Then it would be followed by similar actions against his brother, other family members, relatives, close friends, as well as other people related to him.

Since, according to the report, Gurgen Khachatryan refused to accept the ultimatums presented to him, these actions are more than expected.”