Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the Prosecutor General’s Office, overturning the previous acquittal of former President Serzh Sargsyan and others in a high-profile embezzlement case. The case will now be retried.

The appeal challenged a first-instance court decision that had cleared Sargsyan and his co-defendants of criminal charges. With the appellate ruling, legal proceedings will resume.

The charges relate to allegations that Sargsyan and several former officials, along with businessman Barsegh Beglaryan, misappropriated nearly 489 million drams (approx. $1.2 million) in state funds between January 25 and February 7, 2013. The funds were allocated from the government’s reserve fund under a diesel fuel subsidy program intended to benefit Armenia’s agricultural sector.

According to the indictment, Sargsyan—who served as Armenia’s third president from 2008 to 2018—was the key organizer of the scheme. He allegedly facilitated the embezzlement with the help of former Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetyan (now deceased), former Deputy Minister Samvel Galstyan, and former Minister Gevorg Harutyunyan, all at the urging of Beglaryan, the owner of Flash fuel company.

Sargsyan has denied all allegations, calling the charges politically motivated. His legal team has consistently described the case as an attempt to discredit the former president.