Former Armenian Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan has been accused of giving the green light to a 2010 privatization deal that cost the government an estimated AMD 1.046 billion (currently $2.2m) in losses.

The official charge is Article 179 of the Criminal Code - Squandering or embezzlement.

The case centers around the sale of the Dzora hydroelectric plant by the Serzh Sargsyan government to a private company for 3.6 billion drams ($7.5 million).

The price for the plant, in Armenia’s Lori Province, turned out to be well below its market value

Prior to its sale, the plant belonged to the Ministry of Defense.

Ohanyan, who was the defense minister in the Serzh Sargsyan government when the sale was made, has denied any knowledge of the sale, claiming that it was the now defunct energy ministry that negotiated with the buyer and proposed the terms of the deal to the government.

At the time of the sale, some media outlets in Armenia claimed the plant's new owner (Dzoraget Hydro) was cvontrolled by Sargsyan's nephew.

Ohanyan, along with former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and two other ex-officials, is already on trial for usurping state power during the March 2008 post-election protests in Yerevan.