Two parliamentary candidates from the Strong Armenia party have been arrested.

Haik Avagyan and Artur Abrahamyan, candidates for parliament from the "Strong Armenia" bloc, have been placed on the wanted list in connection with a case of voter bribery and large-scale money laundering. The court has ordered their pretrial detention.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," on June 6, the Central Election Commission authorized criminal prosecution of six candidates from the "Strong Armenia" bloc, suspected of money laundering and voter bribery. On June 9, two candidates for parliament from Samvel Karapetyan's party, Vahe Yeghiazaryan and Susan Badoyan, were taken into custody.

This concerns criminal proceedings previously initiated against six parliamentary candidates – Hayk Avagyan, Sasun Badoyan, Artur Abrahamyan, Vahe Tavakalyan, Vahe Yegiyazaryan, and Ashot Sahakyan, Faktinfo reported today, citing the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

This marks the fourth arrest warrant issued in this criminal case. Arrests were previously ordered against two other candidates from the bloc – Sasun Badoyan and Vahe Yegiyazaryan. According to the Investigative Committee, Samvel Karapetyan's associates are accused of allegedly incentivizing voters and money laundering.

The "Strong Armenia" bloc denies the accusations and calls the incident political persecution. Representatives of the political party stated that they acted within the law and did not bribe voters, according to Armenia Today.

"In our country, both the one who gives and the one who takes a bribe is the current government. We, as the leading force, have no need to give bribes. Under the current repression in Armenia, a simple friendly conversation between people has become a crime. Treating a son-in-law or relative to kebab is now being framed as a crime, and people are being arrested – these are simply the convulsions and fears of the current government," party leader Samvel Karapetyan stated earlier.

On June 8, he clarified that the number of detained and arrested supporters of the political party exceeded 700. According to the politician, 75 people were arrested on the day of the parliamentary elections.

"Don't worry, they won't achieve the victory they're hoping for. With only 30% of the data, they claim victory," he said, noting that this refers to results from rural areas. Karapetyan added that after the urban voting data came in, the Civil Contract party's results began to decline rapidly, prompting the authorities to "take special action."

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, which took place on June 7, the authorities increased pressure on opposition supporters, including the "Strong Armenia" bloc. Thus, on June 4, the Investigative Committee reported on the criminal prosecution of 37 people involved in the case of the previously arrested Alik Aleksanyan. Aleksanyan is suspected of money laundering and bribing Armenian citizens for the political interests of businessman Samvel Karapetyan.

The parliamentary elections have effectively become a referendum on the future of the current government and Armenia's foreign policy, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".