The Azerbaijani army detained the former head of government of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh and businessman Ruben Vardanyan. This is reported by the Armenian media and confirmed by the Azerbaijani border guards.
According to Armenia Today, the businessman was detained on the border with Armenia. The publication also writes that the Azerbaijani side confirmed the arrest.
“The detainee has been handed over to the relevant government authorities to make the appropriate decision about him,” media reports from the Azerbaijani border guard. According to border services, Vardanyan was taken to Baku.
On September 19, Azerbaijan announced a “counterterrorism operation” in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The next day, the authorities of the unrecognized republic accepted Baku’s demands to lay down their arms.
On September 23, Ruben Vardanyan, in an interview with France 24, accused world leaders of supporting Azerbaijan’s “dictatorial regime.”
Ruben Vardanyan is the former owner of the investment company Troika Dialog, which he sold to Sberbank for $1.35 billion in 2011. Over the years, the businessman has invested in Russian startups and bought shares in Russian companies.
In the fall of 2022, Vardanyan renounced his Russian passport and moved to Nagorno-Karabakh. As RB.RU found out, after this statement the businessman withdrew from some of his assets. He transferred many companies to his wife.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
