Armen Ashotyan, who served as Armenia’s Minister of Education and Science (2209-2016), has been charged with officially abusing his power while minister that involved money laundering.

Ashotyan, who now serves as deputy chairman of the opposition Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), also sat on the board of the Yerevan State Medical University while minister.

The case is related to the acquisition of real estate by the Yerevan State Medical University," Ashotyan's lawyer Tigran Atanesyan told reporters.

Atanesyan said his client signed a guarantee not to leave the country while the case is investigated.  

RPA spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov earlier claimed that police barred Ashotyan from leaving for Lisbon at Zvartnots Airport to attend a European People's Party (EPP) forum.

"Suddenly they decided that Armen is accused in an unrelated case. Armen was scheduled to expose Azerbaijan's false theses at the EPP conference and defended the imperative of the people of Artsakh to live independently," Sharmazanov wrote.

Photo: Armen Ashotyan's Facebook page