Armenian authorities have detained former President Robert Kocharyan, 71, along with his eldest son Sedrak and four others, following searches at dozens of locations linked to the family. The country's Prosecutor General's Office has charged Kocharyan — who led Armenia from 1998 to 2008 — with abuse of authority, bribery, and large-scale money laundering, centring on allegations that state assets were sold to private companies below market value during his tenure. The arrest is widely seen as politically charged: Kocharyan heads the Moscow-friendly Armenia Alliance opposition bloc, and analysts say the move signals the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's intensifying crackdown on political forces aligned with Russia.