Some premises belonging to four companies linked to Sedrak Kocharyan, son of Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan, remain sealed, and investigators’ decisions concerning them have been challenged in court, lawyer Aram Orbelyan said, Sputnik Armenia reported. He added that complaints concerning all cases related to Sedrak Kocharyan are currently before the courts, and the defense is awaiting judicial rulings. The sealed premises have mainly included offices at the Piazza Grande business center, the Play City entertainment complex, Toyota Yerevan and Orange Fitness. “I think there will be decisions within two weeks. I still do not know what they will do after those decisions because judicial acts take effect immediately. But once those decisions are issued, I think they will reopen and the companies will operate, at least for some period,” Orbelyan said. The lawyer noted that several other sealed companies have already resumed operations, but the closed premises of companies linked to Sedrak Kocharyan have not yet reopened. He also cited the Galeria mall, linked to Sedrak Kocharyan, noting that some of the goods sold there are seasonal. According to Orbelyan, a prolonged suspension of operations could force companies to reassess the value of goods, introduce discounts and face other economic consequences. According to the lawyer, the issue is not limited to companies linked to Sedrak Kocharyan. Based on information available to Orbelyan, around 60 or more locations connected to various individuals and businesses in Armenia had been sealed. He said these included companies linked to Sedrak Kocharyan, the sons of former State Revenue Committee chairman Gagik Khachatryan, and businessman and Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan. At the same time, some of the sealed businesses had no direct connection to any of those individuals. Orbelyan said that in some cases, a business operator’s only connection was that it had rented premises at market rates in property owned by another person and independently conducted business there. The lawyer cited Arinj Mall as an example, stressing that many businesses operating there are not employees of Gagik Tsarukyan. “If we count Arinj Mall as well, it will not be 60; it will become 600,” Orbelyan said. Orbelyan described the sealing measures as unlawful. He based his position on the argument that state and investigative bodies may take only actions expressly provided for by law. According to the lawyer’s interpretation, during a search conducted as part of criminal proceedings, an investigator may restrict access to the premises being searched to avoid disrupting the normal course of the investigative action. That restriction, however, applies only during the search, while any necessary materials discovered may be seized. “Looking at this entire framework, we see no mechanism available to an investigator to seal premises as part of a search, while outside a search they have no authority whatsoever to seal them,” Orbelyan said. He added that in certain cases, bodies conducting inspections as part of administrative proceedings, including the tax authority, have limited powers to seal premises. However, specific grounds and time limits are prescribed for such powers. Orbelyan therefore rejects the argument that premises can be kept closed for an extended period for the purpose of carrying out an investigative or evidentiary action later. “We can already see that several companies have reopened, BMW, for example, and we expect the same to happen with all the remaining companies within a short period. We expect that because it would be even stranger if decisions were made in some cases that this is unlawful, while in others it suddenly turned out to be lawful, because this mechanism cannot be lawful at all,” Orbelyan stressed. According to the lawyer, the impact of the sealing measures affects not only company owners but also their employees. He recalled that, particularly in sales, salaries often consist of a fixed component as well as additional payments and bonuses tied to sales performance. Consequently, the suspension of operations has had a direct impact on employees’ incomes. Orbelyan did not provide the total number of employees forced into downtime at companies linked to Sedrak Kocharyan, explaining that he does not handle legal matters for all the companies. In his view, if employees of companies linked not only to Sedrak Kocharyan but also to other individuals are included, the number would be substantial. “According to the information currently available, it exceeds 1,000 and could be several thousand,” he said. The lawyer said this estimate should also take into account people who have faced employment-related problems due to restrictions on the operations of Arinj Mall, owned by Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, as well as the Onira Club casino and its associated hotel complex. “Moreover, these are mostly people earning above-average salaries. We are talking about companies that generate fairly substantial exports, tourist flows and trade with Europe. In other words, by all parameters, this in itself creates extremely serious problems,” the lawyer elaborated. Orbelyan also considered it problematic to view the sealing measures exclusively in the context of political processes. In his view, if such a practice becomes accepted, it could later be applied to any business operator. “If an attempt is currently being made to resolve some political issue, in the medium term this will become a very serious economic lever in relation to all other economic participants,” Orbelyan said. According to the lawyer’s assessment, tax and investigative authorities are now testing a mechanism that could later also be applied to businesses with no connection to political processes.