YEREVAN, May 25. /ARKA/. Stepan Martirosyan, a Hollywood producer, involved in the production of a series of blockbusters, will be extradited to Armenia by Russia, Russian daily Kommersant, reported, saying that the producer is accused of stealing $50 million from the owner of the Yerevan-based Armbusinessbank Vitaly Grigoryants.
The criminal case against Stepan Martirosyan was initiated by Armenian prosecutors in September 2017. According to them, the owner of Armbusinessbank Vitaly Grigoryants partnered Martirosyan and invested $97 million in the production of Hollywood films in 2011-2013,
Stepan Martirosyan, who lives in the United States, participated in the creation of such blockbusters as “Survivor” and “The City of Vice” with Mark Wahlberg in the lead roles, “Frozen Land”, “Patrol” and “Plan of Escape” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Jake Gyllenhaal.
According to the producer, the investment did not materialize, since the rental of films in which Grigoryants’ money was invested failed. However, Grigoryants’s lawyers found out that his partner actually stole half of the invested money – $50 million.
In October 2017, Martirosyan was indicted in absentia under Art. 178 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (fraud), and was put on the wanted list and arrested in absentia by the court.
When he arrived at Domodedovo airport in Moscow, Russia, he was detained by Russian law-enforcement bodies at the request of Armenian prosecutors. The decision to extradite Martirosyan to Armenia was endorsed by the Moscow City Court. The Supreme Court, having reviewed the appeal of the defense, canceled the extradition, sending the case for a new trial.
According to “Kommersant”, after a second hearing of the case the Moscow City Court decided to send Martirosyan to Armenia. Martirosyan’s lawyers are going to again appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court. -0-
