The Civilitas Foundation was established in 2008 by Vartan Oskanian, a political figure and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Latin word civilitas means "the citizen's responsibility toward society." The foundation's goal is to support efforts aimed at strengthening Armenian statehood, the well-being of the people, and the full realization of the rights and duties of Armenian citizens.

In 2011, Civilitas founded the economic daily Orakarg (Agenda) and the CivilNet online television channel. One year later, the National Security Service initiated a criminal case related to the Civilitas Foundation and its founder on grounds of money laundering.

At that time, Oskanian was a member of the Prosperous Armenia parliamentary faction in the National Assembly. The criminal case was based on funds donated to Civilitas by the family of American philanthropist Jon Huntsman. Law enforcement alleged that of more than USD 1.4 million transferred to Oskanian's personal account by the Huntsmans for charitable purposes, Oskanian had embezzled USD 181,000.

Throughout the case, Oskanian, his party members, and close associates maintained that the criminal prosecution was politically motivated. They asserted that the case stemmed from his political activity, opposition work, and statements about his readiness to become a presidential candidate.

In July 2013, the National Security Service issued a statement announcing termination of criminal prosecution against Oskanian. According to the NSS, Oskanian had confessed to using funds donated to the foundation for charitable purposes for personal use and had restored the difference arising from tax obligations. Oskanian, however, denied making any confession, stating that the case was closed due to the absence of corpus delicti (elements of a crime).