Armenia’s National Gallery moves seized art to storage, ministry says

Armenia’s National Gallery moved artworks seized from Gagik Khachatryan’s family to a separate storage area after seven days of public display, the Education, Science, Culture and Sports Ministry told Azatutyun. The works remain with the gallery for safekeeping as evidence in criminal proceedings.

Investigators seized 70 artworks, including paintings and religious icons, in a new criminal case involving Khachatryan, a former chairman of Armenia’s State Revenue Committee and former finance minister. He faces corruption charges including embezzlement on a particularly large scale, complicity in money laundering and receiving a particularly large bribe.

The ministry said the Investigative Committee had authorised the exhibition and the gallery had not pursued profit. Azatutyun also said the gallery received no income from the display.

Seventy works seized, about 30 displayed

The Investigative Committee said a September 11, 2026 decision recognised all 70 seized works as material evidence—objects retained for use in a criminal case—and entrusted them to the National Gallery for safekeeping.

In a statement reported by Armenpress on October 7, the committee announced public access to the works and identified three visiting officials: committee chairman Artur Poghosyan, Education, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Zhanna Andreasyan and Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan.

An earlier Azatutyun report put the number actually displayed at about 30. The figure of 70 refers to the seized collection, not the number shown to visitors.

Lawyers dispute permission to exhibit

The Investigative Committee told Azatutyun that placing the works with the gallery had resolved their custody—who would hold them for safekeeping. Khachatryan’s lawyer Yerem Sargsyan objected that safekeeping did not amount to permission to exhibit someone else’s private property. The family’s lawyers said they had sent complaints to various bodies alleging a violation of property rights, without disclosing the details.

An October 21 Hraparak report, republished by Mnews, said defence lawyer Amram Makinyan had petitioned the Investigative Committee to stop the exhibition. Makinyan argued that the safekeeping record contained no permission to display the works or make them accessible to third parties, and that lighting, changes in temperature and humidity, and physical contact could damage the artworks or compromise their preservation as evidence.

Makinyan asked investigators to check each work’s location and condition, sought the gallery’s internal movement and exhibition records, and requested secure storage closed to the public.