Armenia’s Prosecutor General Seeks $2.5 Million Seizure from Ex-Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan Over Illegally Acquired Funds

Armenia’s Prosecutor General Office (PGO) is seeking the confiscation of one billion drams (US$2.482M) from former Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan, alleging that she utilized unlawfully obtained funds to purchase multiple properties.

Poghosyan, who served as culture minister from 2006 to 2016, faces the case now forwarded to the Anti-Corruption Court for resolution.

A 2015 Hetq investigation uncovered Poghosyan and then-Armenian Ambassador to Israel Armen Smbatyan's document forgery to acquire a downtown Yerevan building, commonly known as AOKS. The property was later sold to an offshore company owned by Poghosyan’s daughter-in-law for $550,000.

In 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for Poghosyan by Armenia’s Investigative Committee, charging her with abuse of power and money laundering. Subsequently, she fled Armenia, and her whereabouts remain unknown.