YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily writes: Former [opposition] PAP [Prosperous Armenia Party] MP Abraham Manukyan is under arrest on the hope of testifying against [PAP leader, MP, and business tycoon] Gagik Tsarukyan.

According to our information, however, the authorities' hopes have not been fulfilled so far— Manukyan has not testified, either before or after his arrest. Let us remind: he was charged with aiding in vote buying.

According to the indictment, in 2017 Gagik Tsarukyan called Vazgen Poghosyan, who was nominated an MP candidate by the PAP in Gegharkunik Province, and offered him to run in the elections, on the condition that he would secure 9,000 votes in the province. According to the [respective] agreement with Tsarukyan, Poghosyan applied to [businessman] Sedrak Arustamyan and [then] Abraham Manukyan to ensure the necessary expenses. The latter dealt with the financial issues of the Prosperous Armenia Party during the 2017 NA [National Assembly] elections. Vazgen Poghosyan told the law enforcement that he had received from them (…) a total of 90 million drams.