The pre-election passport scandal in Armenia

Armenia’s political landscape is entering an increasingly tense pre-election period, with a growing controversy surrounding the alleged Russian citizenship of prominent opposition figures Samvel Karapetyan and his nephew Narek Karapetyan.

Samvel Karapetyan, the Russian-Armenian billionaire and owner of the Tashir Group, currently leads one of the country’s major opposition movements seeking to challenge Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. However, Armenian legislation prohibits individuals holding dual citizenship from serving as prime minister or occupying several other senior state positions. Since Samvel Karapetyan is known to possess Russian citizenship, he would be legally unable to assume office even if his political bloc succeeded electorally.

Complicating matters further, Samvel Karapetyan is currently under house arrest as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

In response, the opposition bloc nominated his nephew, Narek Karapetyan, as its candidate for prime minister. Representatives of the movement openly indicated that this could be a temporary arrangement, with the expectation that future legislative changes might eventually allow Samvel Karapetyan to formally assume leadership.

The situation escalated after Armenian authorities alleged that Narek Karapetyan had also concealed Russian citizenship. Narek Karapetyan denied the accusations, as did his uncle. Unexpectedly, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin also publicly stated that Narek Karapetyan does not possess a Russian passport.

Nevertheless, pro-government Armenian media later published what was described as an extract from the Russian taxpayer registry, allegedly indicating that Narek Karapetyan holds Russian citizenship.

If these allegations are officially confirmed, the issue could carry not only political consequences for the opposition bloc’s electoral ambitions, but also potential legal implications connected to the alleged concealment of citizenship status.