YEREVAN, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS.  The Court of Appeal of Armenia has denied the complaint of the lawyer of Vachagan Ghazaryan, a former high ranking security official in the Serzh Sargsyan administration, and has left the decision of the court of 1^st instance in force.

ARMENPRESS reports lawyer Armen Harutyunyan had appealed the decision of the court of 1^st instance on prolonging Vachagan Ghazaryan’s pre-trial detention.

Vachagan Ghazaryan was detained by National Security Service (NSS) agents on June 25 and placed under arrest the same day. Two days later he was charged for illicit enrichment and false asset declaration. He was remanded in custody pending trial on June 28.

Ghazaryan carried about half a million dollars in cash on him at the time of his arrest. He claimed that he withdrew the money from a bank with the purpose of returning it to the real owner of the money, without mentioning a name. Another 50,000 dollars was discovered in his car. The National Security Service said it had intelligence reports that Ghazaryan was planning to withdraw an additional 3,000,000 dollars from his and his wife’s bank accounts.

His wife is also charged with illicit enrichment.

Earlier in November, authorities said that couple is also suspected in money laundering involving an upscale restaurant in Yerevan.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan