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MP Anna Mkrtchyan from the opposition With Honor faction on Tuesday denounced the bribery charges against Armenia’s third President Serzh Sargsyan as an attempt by the authorities to crack down on their opponents.

Earlier on Monday, Sargsyan’s lawyer, Amram Makinyan, said the ex-president had been formally charged with taking a large amount of bribe. The charges stem from the testimony of businesswoman Silva Hambardzumyan, who also said she bribed second President Robert Kocharyan and other officials.

"It turns out that these irreplaceable and multifunctional Silvas always appear when there is a need to crack down on the people who are devoted to the homeland, are able to resist and after the destruction of the two counters, to build a victorious state again from what has been left by Nikol Pashinyan," the lawmaker stated.

Mkrtchyan underscored that the circumstances of the case, in which Serzh Sargsyan was involved as a witness, have not changed for three years, adding simply the “orders of those people, who think that Serzh Sargsyan should be involved not as a witness, but as a defendant, have now changed.”

One of the journalists quoted the media as saying that a family member of Hrachya Musheghyan, head of a department of the Anti-Corruption Committee dealing with Serzh Sargsyan’s case, has declared $5,400 income though gambling winnings, and it is assumed that the income was received through contacts with a bookmaker.

Anna Mkrtchyan stated that Nikol Pashinyan’s 2018 statements on the end of corruption were yet another “myth”.

"According to unconfirmed reports, bribes and incentives are now given not only in the form of bonuses, but also through bookmakers, making "winnings" there and possibly receiving sums for their services," the MP noted.