Prosecutors have initiated public criminal prosecution against Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced, according to 1lurer.am .

According to the statement, criminal charges have been filed under Article 290, Part 3, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code, which concerns tax evasion on an especially large scale.

A travel restriction, prohibiting Tsarukyan from leaving his place of residence or the country without authorization, has been imposed as a preventive measure.

Earlier reports claimed that Tsarukyan had intended to depart from Zvartnots International Airport on June 9 but was prevented from doing so by law enforcement authorities.

Prosperous Armenia spokesperson Iveta Tonoyan later stated on Facebook that Tsarukyan and his wife had planned a previously arranged two- to three-day trip for “strictly personal and family reasons.”

“The government’s propaganda machine is spreading alarming headlines claiming that ‘Gagik Tsarukyan attempted to leave the country.’ Let me present the reality. Gagik Tsarukyan had a pre-planned two- to three-day trip with his wife for purely personal and family purposes. That is the whole story.

When officials at passport control told Gagik Tsarukyan that they needed to clarify something, he replied that there was no need to clarify anything and that if the situation could be interpreted differently, he would cancel the trip and return home. I understand that pro-government media in today’s Armenia believe they have permission to write anything, but there are things that are truly unacceptable,” Tonoyan wrote.

During a briefing with journalists at the Civil Contract headquarters following the announcement of election results on the night of June 7–8, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his priorities had not changed and that “opposition leaders must be held criminally accountable.”

“Robert Kocharyan will go to prison, Samvel Karapetyan will go to prison, Gagik Tsarukyan will go to prison,” Pashinyan stated.