Ex-Russian Billionaire Faces Serious Charges, Life Sentence Sought
(MENAFN) Azerbaijani authorities are pursuing a life sentence for Ruben Vardanyan, a billionaire and former Russian citizen, who is facing trial in Baku on multiple serious charges, according to local media reports.
The Armenian-born businessman renounced his Russian citizenship after moving to the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2022, a long-contested territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He later served in the administration of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Following Baku’s military takeover of the region in 2023, Vardanyan was detained while attempting to leave the area.
During a Thursday hearing before a military tribunal in Baku, prosecutors reiterated allegations that Vardanyan, while acting as state minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, also called Artsakh, was responsible for crimes including crimes against humanity, war crimes, terrorism, and financing of terrorism. The prosecution urged the court to impose a life sentence. Vardanyan’s trial commenced in January.
Earlier on Thursday, Vardanyan, through a statement issued by his family, denounced the proceedings as an “imitation of justice” and declared: “Arstakh was, is, and will be.”
Vardanyan, 57, built his wealth in the 1990s as a co-founder of the investment firm Troika Dialogue. In 2011, the company was sold to Russia’s largest bank, Sber, in a deal worth $1.4 billion.
The Armenian-born businessman renounced his Russian citizenship after moving to the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2022, a long-contested territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He later served in the administration of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Following Baku’s military takeover of the region in 2023, Vardanyan was detained while attempting to leave the area.
During a Thursday hearing before a military tribunal in Baku, prosecutors reiterated allegations that Vardanyan, while acting as state minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, also called Artsakh, was responsible for crimes including crimes against humanity, war crimes, terrorism, and financing of terrorism. The prosecution urged the court to impose a life sentence. Vardanyan’s trial commenced in January.
Earlier on Thursday, Vardanyan, through a statement issued by his family, denounced the proceedings as an “imitation of justice” and declared: “Arstakh was, is, and will be.”
Vardanyan, 57, built his wealth in the 1990s as a co-founder of the investment firm Troika Dialogue. In 2011, the company was sold to Russia’s largest bank, Sber, in a deal worth $1.4 billion.
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