Stepan Martirosyan, executive producer of the Hollywood blockbuster “Escape Plan,” has been extradited from Russia to Armenia. Investigators believe he swindled Armbusinessbank owner Vitaly Grigoryants out of $50 million in his home country, promising him lucrative investments in the film business.A criminal case against Stepan Martirosyan was opened by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Armenia in September 2017. According to the case, Armbusinessbank owner Vitaly Grigoryants, through Stepan Martirosyan, invested $97 million in American film production between 2011 and 2013. Mr. Martirosyan, who lives in the United States, served as executive producer on such films as “Lone Survivor” and “Broken City,” starring Mark Wahlberg, and “Frozen Ground,” “End of Watch,” and “Escape Plan,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jake Gyllenhaal. According to the producer, the investments failed, as the films he invested in flopped. Mr. Grigoryants, in turn, learned through his lawyers that his partner retained half of the investment\u2014$50 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In October 2017, Mr. Martirosyan was charged in absentia under Article 178 of the Armenian Criminal Code (fraud), placed on the wanted list, and arrested in absentia by the court. Ultimately, the producer, who had arrived at Domodedovo Airport, was detained, and Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Vinichenko, granting the request of his Armenian colleague, ordered Mr. Martirosyan’s extradition, a decision upheld by the Moscow City Court. The Supreme Court, after reviewing the defense’s appeal, overturned the extradition, remanding the case for a new trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday in court, the lawyers for the defendant in absentia requested that the Deputy Prosecutor General’s decision be overturned and that the producer himself be released from custody, allowing him to fly to the United States. They also pointed out numerous inconsistencies in Mr. Martirosyan’s criminal prosecution. For example, it was discovered that in Armenia, the case against him was not brought under Article 178 of the Criminal Code, but, through a mistranslation, under Article 187\u2014obstruction of lawful business activity. Furthermore, the injured party was not the investor Grigoryants, but an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands, which has no connection to Armenia. According to the defense, there was no theft at all\u2014the producer simply kept a certain percentage of the investment for his services. The lawyers believe the investor filed claims against his business partner because he lost money not only in the United States but also on another project in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Moscow City Court, finding all these theories irrelevant, decided to return Mr. Martirosyan to his homeland, citing no obstacles to his extradition. His lawyers will attempt to find them in the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ksokolovarchive.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/image-26-1.png?w=500\")
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