Court jails Sergey and Armen Smbatyan in pre-trial detention

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. A Yerevan court has approved a customary 2-month remand term for Sergey Smbatyan, the Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and his father Armen Smbatyan, a former Armenian ambassador to Russia and Israel, a day after the two men were arrested.

The prosecution said that the Smbatyans are suspected of large-scale real estate fraud which caused nearly 1 billion drams in damages to the state.

Authorities said that a third suspect is also in custody. The latter was identified as entrepreneur Arman Petrosyan.