Armenia recovered $773 million in illicit assets, chief prosecutor says

Armenia has recovered illicit assets worth $773 million in recent years, Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan said on Thursday.

At a cabinet meeting, officials announced that a 7,000-square-meter land plot near the Yerevan TV tower, valued at about 417 million drams (around $1.1 million), has been returned to state ownership under a court ruling. The land will be assigned to the Ministry of Environment and transferred for indefinite use to the Hayantar forestry agency.

Vardapetyan said the land had been sold in 2005 under an agreement between the Yerevan mayor and a private individual. Its recovery followed a lawsuit by the Prosecutor General’s Office and a decision by the Anti-Corruption Court.

The case is linked to associates of former Abovyan Mayor Karapet Guloyan, who faces separate criminal proceedings already sent to court with an approved indictment.

The authorities also allocated five additional land plots in the same area to the Environment Ministry.

Overall, Vardapetyan said 291.7 billion drams ($773 million) in illegally obtained assets have been returned to the state and municipalities, including $504 million recovered directly to state ownership. More than 80 illegal structures have also been demolished around Lake Sevan.

She added that criminal prosecutions and asset recovery proceedings are increasingly advancing in parallel, with court rulings and settlements often occurring within similar timeframes.