Armenian Minister of Emergency Situations Andranik Piloyan was arrested today following a raid by law enforcement officers of his office related to an ongoing corruption investigation.

The Anti-Corruption Committee's press service confirmed the arrest to Hetq, but did not provide further details, promising to release a statement later.

On March 28, officers of the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) and the National Security Service (NSS) jointly searched at least one office at the ministry headquarters in Yerevan.

The criminal case, according to preliminary information, refers to the alleged abuses in the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Piloyan, a retired army general who was awarded the title of National Hero for his participation in the 2020 Karabakh war, left for a two-week vacation, in Armenia, soon after the raid on the ministry.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan appointed Piloyan Emergency Situations Minister in November 2020, following the November 9 Russian-brokered ceasefire.

Update:  Tigran Sargsyan, a lawyer representing Piloyan, told Hetq on March 31 that the minister has been placed in pre-trial detention. The lawyer gave no specifics on the case or whether Piloyan accepts the charges.