The regular hearing in the criminal case of third president Serzh Sargsyan resumed Tuesday at the Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia. The court announced that it will proceed to the matter of terminating criminal prosecution and terminating the proceedings against Sargsyan.

The defense said that it, having familiarized itself with the materials of the proceedings, recorded that the mediation proceedings in this criminal case were conducted with significant violations of the procedural law, and therefore the current situation serves as a basis for terminating the criminal prosecution against Sargsyan at this phase.

The prosecution, however, objected. “The motion is subject to denial at this phase, as it was not filed in due course,” it said. And the court denied the motion. The aforementioned criminal case against Serzh Sargsyan concerns the illegal alienation of land adjacent to Yerevan’s Admiral Isakov Avenue and the Yerablur Military Pantheon during his tenure as Defense Minister. Sargsyan is charged with 18 counts of large-scale embezzlement of property, two counts of large-scale money laundering, and three counts of aiding and abetting large-scale money laundering.