Defense attorneys for former Armenian Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan, who was arrested in September on fraud and embezzlement charges, issued a statement today that the investigative body reviewing the case has rejected all their motions to have the forensic evidence against their client be reviewed and challenged.

Tonoyan was arrested as part of a criminal probe regarding the supply of defective ammunition to the country’s military. 

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), announced in September, that Tonoyan and Davit Galstyan, an arms dealer also arrested, were accused of fraud and embezzlement amounting to 2.3 billion AMD (US$4.7M).

Tonoyan, appointed defense minister in May 2018 and dismissed on November 20, 2020, once declared while defense minister that Armenia would capture more Azerbaijani territory in any new war.

The attorneys want a second opinion regarding the quality of the artillery shells Tonoyan purchased while defense minister.