Karen Khachatryan, the former Department Head of Internal Security of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) arrested on August 27, 2019 on suspicion of large-scale embezzlement and abuse of official power, has been released from detention after paying AMD 20 million (US$41,800) bail.

Karen Khachatryan is the nephew former SRC Chairman Gagik Khachatryan, who was also arrested on the same day on the same charges.

“I would like to record that this was an important but belated decision by the court. There were no grounds to detain Karen Khachatryan. He has been in detention for a long time, about five months, and from the very first day we were justified in saying that there was no need to detain Karen Khachatryan,” Khachatryan’s defense lawyer Amram Makinyan told reporters waiting outside the court.