Mihran Poghosyan, a former Chief Compulsory Enforcement Officer (CCEO) of Armenia charged with embezzlement and abuse of official authority, who has taken refuge in Russia, today released a statement charging the Pashinyan government with mismanagement and a desire for personal vengeance, factors that have plunged the country into a crisis.

On April 15, 2019, Poghosyan, best known for his shady offshore financial dealings (see: Mihran Poghosyan: The Armenian General Who Mastered the Ins and Outs of Panama's Offshore Zone), was charged with embezzlement and abuse of official authority while serving as CCEO.

He was arrested in the Russian city of Petrozavodsk four days later and has since requested political asylum in Russia on the grounds that he is being politically persecuted in Armenia. Russia has turned down Armenian requests to extradite him.

“Constantly trumpeted statements by the current authorities on development and progress are increasingly detached from reality. Under the slogan ‘not to repeat the mistakes of the predecessors’, the most serious components of state institutions are being dismantled and the governance system that has guaranteed a degree of stability over the years is being abolished. They are destroying everything, destroying the good and the bad, without bringing the promised new one to life,” Poghosyan writes in his open letter that was distributed through his office.

Poghosyan served as Chief Compulsory Enforcement Officer (CCEO) of Armenia from 2011 until his resignation in April 2016.

The Special Investigative Service launched a criminal case into Poghosyan’s offshore transactions in 2016 but dropped the matter in January 2017.

In April 2017, he was elected to the National Assembly on the Republican Party of Armenia ticket.

“Rather, the incumbent government is driven solely by a desire for personal vengeance, leaving the country’s governance helmless. The ‘revolutionary changes’ do not take form. Not being more than declarative statements, they reveal more serious problems. The team at the helm of the country continues to be guided by cheap populism and personal greed that’s taking the country down a dangerous road,” Poghosyan writes.

Poghosyan concludes by describing Prime Minister Pashinyan as someone who hasn’t shorn his essence as a “opposition leader” and thus has failed to become the leader of all the people.

“He constantly divides society into colors. In fact, it is time to sober up. The mistakes, coming one after the other, can have irreversible consequences for the country. And one day the brainwashing associated with fake deeds and shows will end. No one should be the target of political revenge, especially those who have made a real contribution to state-building,” Poghosyan writes.