Armenian prosecutors detained former president Robert Kocharyan on August 25 and charged him with corruption-related offences allegedly committed during his decade in office, in a case likely to further escalate tensions between the government and its opponents.

Kocharyan, 71, who served as president from 1998 to 2008 and now leads the opposition Armenia Alliance, was accused of using his position to transfer state property to himself and associates on favourable terms and concealing the "criminal origin" of the assets, the prosecutor general's office said.

Prosecutors charged him with money laundering, bribery and abuse of power and said nine other people, including one of Kocharyan's sons, had also been charged in connection with the alleged scheme.

“The Prosecutor General initiated a public criminal prosecution against the second President of the Republic of Armenia, R.K., for abuse of official authority (3 counts), receiving a bribe in particularly large amounts (2 counts), and laundering money in particularly large amounts (4 counts),” a statement from the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Separately the Prosecutor General’s Office said prosecutors had “initiated public criminal prosecution against the directors of companies affiliated with the second president of the Republic of Armenia, R. K.”

Kocharyan has previously denied wrongdoing while in office.

“The illegal actions against the second President of the Republic of Armenia, the leader of the “Armenia” bloc, Robert Kocharyan, and his family members are another cynical manifestation of a regime that has lost its legitimacy and maintains its power exclusively through illegalities,” a statement published by his Armenia Alliance on Facebook said.

“This is not a legal process. This is the open subjugation of the state apparatus to the political fears and revenge of one person.”

The case comes after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's re-election in June and amid what critics describe as a broadening government campaign against political opponents, church leaders and civil society groups.

Pashinyan's government is seeking to deepen ties with Western institutions while reducing Armenia's dependence on Russia, a shift that has intensified political divisions at home.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has rejected as politically motivated a case against its leader, while opposition figures Gagik Tsarukyan and Samvel Karapetyan are also facing legal proceedings.

Kocharyan has been a vocal critic of Pashinyan's policy of moving Armenia closer to the West and away from traditional ally Russia. During his presidency, he pursued close ties with Moscow, which remains an important energy supplier and hosts a military base in Armenia.

Kocharyan was previously arrested in 2019 over his handling of deadly unrest following a disputed 2008 presidential election. At least 10 people were killed in clashes between police and protesters. The charges were dropped and the trial ended in 2021.