SOCHI, Russia—Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to consider Levon Hayrapetian’s case, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said in an interview with the Armnews TV station on Monday.
Sarkisian said in his interview that he brought up the issue of Armenian businessman and philanthropist Levon Hayrapetian’s arrest during his meeting with Putin in Sochi over the weekend. “He promised to consider the case, especially the questions concerning Hayrapetian’s health,” Sarkisian said.
On Aug. 13, a court in Moscow is set to consider a petition to review the terms of Hayrapetian’s detention in view of his poor health condition.
Hayrapetian, 65, was arrested by Russian Federal Security Service officials on July 15. A Moscow court allowed the businessman’s two-month imprisonment while investigators conduct a probe into his alleged criminal connections and involvement in some illegal financial dealings. He was officially charged on July 24 with money laundering and embezzlement and his shares in the Russian oil company Bashneft, said to be worth $8.5 million were frozen.
Hayrapetian is considered to be one of the wealthiest Armenians in the world. He is known to have invested millions of dollars into developing Nagorno-Karabakh’s infrastructure and renovating the area’s historical-cultural monuments. His charity included a mass wedding for hundreds of Karabakh couples in 2008 and sponsorship of the construction of a military college in Martakert.
