Former Armenian Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan, now wanted by law enforcement agencies in Armenia on charges related to the bloody March 2008 post-election riots in Yerevan, has become a Russian citizen residing in Moscow.

Kostanyan served as Armenia’s Prosecutor General from 2013-2016, Deputy Minister of Justice from 2006-2008, and Assistant to President from 2008-2011.

Gevorg Kostanyan is accused of committing official forgery, as well as inciting abuse of official authority, inciting official forgery, inciting concealment of a grave or especially grave crime, and inciting falsification of evidence in a criminal case involving grave or especially grave crimes.

In September 2019, Kostanyan was summoned to the Special Investigation Service (SIS) in connection with the March 1 case. According to the SIS, Kostanyan reported that he was abroad and would return to Armenia within two or three weeks. In November 2019, the SIS named Kostanyan as a defendant in the March 1 case and ordered him to appear before the SIS within forty-eight hours to be charged.

Kostanyan responded that he was in Moscow and did not consider the order reasonable. He said he had signed a contract with the University of Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation to lecture there and was planning to return to Armenia after the end of the academic semester and the exam period.

The SIS declared Kostanyan a wanted person and petitioned the courts to issue a detention warrant for him. The courts approved the petition.

In January 2023, the Anti-Corruption Court also approved a request by the Prosecutor General's Office to seize property from its former boss Kostanyan and three others associated with him.

Note that Gevorg Kostanyan’s name is missing from the Armena’s voter register. If this isn’t a technical error, either the former official is no longer a citizen of  Armenia, or he is a citizen but does not have an Armenia registration.

Hetq has learnt that Kostanyan is registered as residing at 18 Namyotkin Street in Moscow. The two-building residential complex (Rosmarin) was built by businessman Samvel Karapetyan’s Tashir group of companies.  

Kostanyan launched construction business in Russia

In September 2019, Kostanyan and his business partner Hayk Grigoryan founded Blagostroy Service LLC in Khimki, a city on the outskirts of Moscow.

Russian corporate search platform List-Org describes the company as engaged in the construction of residential and non-residential buildings, building demolition, carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring, roofing and other constriction related work.

It is interesting that the registration address of Blagostroy Service is Khimki, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya 2a. This is a basement area adjacent to the Khimki branch of the Main Investigation Department of the Russia’s Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region, as well as the Khimki branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSS).

It's difficult to say whether Kostanyan’s career in Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office played a role here. Prior to working as Armenia’s top prosecutor, Kostanyan served as the country’s Military Prosecutor.

According to Blagostroy Service, Kostanyan was the sole owner of the company from 2020 to 2024. In August 2024, he transferred a 50 percent stake to Dmitry Mikhalyov, who’s served as general director of the company since May 2024.

Kostanyan exited the company in 2024, leaving Mikhalyov the sole shareholder. According to available data, the company has one employee, the director.

List-Org shows no 2020-2023 financial data for the company, implying it hasn’t been active of late.

Related Reading: Yerevan Court Orders Detention for Former Armenian Prosecutor General Implicated in March 1, 2008 Case; Former Armenian Prosecutor General to Remain in Pre-Trial Detention