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Former Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, who is charged with “fraud and embezzlement of large sums of money”, pleads not guilty and will fight to “restore his reputation”, his legal team said in a statement on Monday.

Tonoyan denies the charges, since he “has not committed the crime he is accused of”, the lawyers stressed.

"After his dismissal as defense minister, Mr. Tonoyan refrained from any comments, taking into account the state secrets, national security interests and interstate relations.

“Even now Mr. Tonoyan is putting those interests above personal ones, and, possessing a large amount of information, does not use it for self-defense," the statement said.

At the same time, Tonoyan's lawyers expressed confidence that the results of the expertise to be conducted by specialists would provide substantiated and objective answers to allegations of "poor-quality" and "non-conforming" weapons and ammunition supplied to the Armenian army.

“Mr. Tonoyan will fight for justice, restoration of his innocence and good reputation,” the lawyers said.

Tonoyan was remanded in pre-trial custody on September 30, a decision appealed by his lawyers to a higher court.