In September 2025, reports appeared on the Internet that the Prime Minister of Armenia allegedly became the owner of luxury real estate in the Canadian province of Ontario. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
On September 11, Russian-language Azerbaijani media reported on Nikol Pashinyan’s expensive purchase: Haqqin.az, Axar.az, CBC TV Azerbaijan And Modern.az. Soon the news spread in the Russian-language segment of Telegram, where it was published by the channels “Russia now • news"(150,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Dmitry Vasilets"(113,000), "Voice of Mordor"(102,000), "Release the KrakenZ!"(63,000), etc. Similar posts also appeared on YouTube, in Russian-speaking blogs, pages in X, Instagram, "Odnoklassniki" And Facebook.
The authors of publications about the proposed transaction refer to investigation edition of The Times of Canada, published September 10. It claims that Pashinyan, through the mediation of Canadian actress of Armenian origin Arsine Khanjyan, purchased the luxurious St. George mansion in Mississauga a year ago. It is clarified that the deal was concluded through a shell company, the purchase price was $17.1 million. The authors of the investigation named their contacts in Canadian Real Estate Association, they did not provide any documents or other evidence.
As one of the largest Canadian real estate publications Real Estate Magazine, the St. George mansion did sell in September 2024 for $17.1 million. Although the names of the buyers were not disclosed, it is known that the real estate agency Sam McDadi, which handled the deal, received two offers: “one from a buyer in the Greater Toronto Area and the other from a client, a successful businessman who lives near Dolton Avenue and is familiar with the property.” At the same time, there was an inaccuracy in the investigation, which was referred to by Russian-language media and Telegram channels: according to website Sam McDadi, the house has seven bedrooms and 14 bathrooms, down from six and ten respectively.
The website on which the investigation into the deal was published is much more suspicious. At first glance, it resembles the website of The Times of Canada, based in 2010 - the name, design and color scheme are the same. However, the domain of this media is thetimesofcanada.com, while the news about Pashinyan appeared on timescanada.ca. According to the Whois service, this address was registered on September 4, 2025, just a few days before the publication of the investigation.
At the same time, the clone site does not have sections typical for a large and authoritative publication, such as “About Us” and “Contacts”, as well as links to pages on social networks.
The author of the article is Sean Preville, a journalist from a reputable Canadian publication. Global News. According to him website and page in LinkedIn, Previl collaborated with many local publications, but The Times of Canada is not mentioned on this list. On the present website of this media also none articles written by Previl. At the same time, on the fake website in the “Our Authors” section, three more employees are listed: Teagan Rush, Karen Bartko And Uday Rana. In reality, they also work for Global News and do not write for The Times of Canada.
Another suspicious detail is that after the publication about Pashinyan, the site stopped updating. Even a week later, on its home page, right under the logo with the words “Latest News and Events,” only materials published on September 9 or 10 were available.
This type of disinformation is often applies Russian propaganda: a fake website is created that either impersonates a serious publication or mimics a real media outlet (in this case, the most similar domain, logo and design are used so that the differences are invisible to the inexperienced reader). Previously, “Verified” has already exposed similar fakes aimed at discrediting foreign leaders: the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, President of Moldova Maia Sandu and former US President Joe Biden.
Among the Russian-language media, the Azerbaijani publication was the first to retell the fake investigation Haqqin.az, there is a corresponding post in his Telegram channel appeared September 11 at 12:02 Moscow time. "Checked" several times already refuted fakes that were distributed by this site.
Thus, there is no evidence that the Prime Minister of Armenia bought a mansion in Canada for $17.1 million. This information appeared on a website imitating a reputable Canadian publication and is not based on any sources. At the same time, the details contained there about the new owner and the mansion itself differ from the data provided by the real estate agency that carried out the transaction.
Cover photo: timescanada.ca
- EU DisinfoLab. Doppelganger. Media clones serving Russian propaganda.
- Fact Investigation Platform. The Times of Canada's fake website credits Pashinyan with a deal to buy a mansion worth $17.1 million
- A mansion in Florida, a villa in Egypt, Goebbels’ house: we analyze reports about real estate purchased by Zelensky
- Is it true that Zelenskaya spent more than $1 million on jewelry during her visit to New York?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
