A representative of one of Armenia’s most influential business families was taken into custody Friday, February 12, with charges of death threats and illegal gun possession.

Police stormed the head office of SIL Concern (belonging to former parliamentarian, Khachatur Sukiasyan,) arrested Saribek Sukiasyan, Board Chairman of ArmEconomBank and Artash Stepanynan, manager of Airarat shopping mall, and took them to Erebuni police department.

The police statement says Sukiasyan and Stepanyan threatened to kill Gor Davtyan, director of Audit LLC (who in October 2008 sold his 41 percent of shares of Byuregh LLC to Sukiasyan’s wife Aspram Tonoyan) and forced him to sign certain documents related to Byuregh LLC’s stock.

In November 2009 the RA Court of Appeals nullified the deal, after which a new shareholder turned up intending to buy Davtyan’s shares. According to circulating news, the new buyer is Ruben Hayrapetyan, president of RA Football Federation. (Hayrapetyan refused to answer ArmeniaNow’s questions on the matter.)

According to the police statement Davtyan allerted police at 5:30 p.m., however, Sukiasyan family attorney Ara Zohrabyan insists that the police broke into SIL group’s head office at 3:30 p.m. and that by 4 p.m. Sukiasyan and Stepanyan were already been under arrest.

Zohrabyan denied the accusations against Sukiasyan of using death threats in order to force Davtyan to sign the papers. According to Zohrabyan, Davtyan had called him and asked to arrange a meeting with Sukiasyan. During the meeting Davtyan wrote a letter to Hayrapetyan refusing to sell his stock. “I witnessed him signing the letter, there were no threats at all,” says Zohrabyan.

Armen Malkhasyan, head of RA Police press department, told ArmeniaNow that he cannot comment on the time inconsistency issue.

“Didn’t we say in our statement that the arrest took place at 6 p.m.? That means that’s exactly when it happened. Ask them why they are stating 4 p.m. as the time of arrest,” says Malkhasyan.

The Armenian National Congress has released a statement condemning Sukiasyan’s arrest, saying that “the authorities have fabricated another case on Sukiasyans and the charges brought against him have nothing to do with reality.”