The Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia has confirmed the initiation of a criminal investigation related to the launch of Armenia’s first satellite, Armsat-1.
According to Radio Liberty, the Anti-Corruption Committee is conducting the investigation, focusing on possible misconduct within the Ministry of High-Tech Industry. At the time of the project’s implementation, the ministry was led by the current President of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan.
Radio Liberty noted that the President's office declined to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office has withheld details of the investigation, citing the law on “Freedom of Information” and the existence of state, official, or commercial secrecy.
The Armenian satellite was launched into orbit in May 2022 from Cape Canaveral using a SpaceX rocket. The project was a collaboration between the Armenian state-owned company Geocosmos and the Spanish firm Satlantis.
The exact cost of the project has not been officially disclosed. However, in April 2022, the government allocated approximately $7 million to Geocosmos, which had a contract with Satlantis. It remains unclear whether this amount covered the full costs of manufacturing and launching the satellite.
