Pashinian pledged to “quickly” nationalize Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) hours after the Moscow-based billionaire, Samvel Karapetian, was arrested on June 18 on charges stemming from his strong criticism of the premier’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Armenian government forcibly took over ENA’s management in July, accusing Karapetian’s Tashir Group of mismanaging the country’s power distribution network. Tashir rejected the accusations as politically motivated before appealing to the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC). The authorities in Yerevan ignored the SCC’s subsequent order to refrain from seizing ENA.
Last week, Armenia’s energy regulatory headed by a political ally of Pashinian formally stripped Tashir of its operating license. This decision means that ENA can be nationalized if the two sides fail to agree within the next three months on its sale to another investor. In that case, the government will have to pay Tashir a compensation equivalent to ENA’s market value.
Meeting with ENA’s “temporary administrator” Romanos Petrosian installed by the regulator, Pashinian indicated that he prefers the nationalization option.
“We have to make a payment to take over the company, and that payment is actually a state budget expense,” he said. “If we see that that expense is not justified by the state budget, then we must attract a new investor through transparent procedures.”
In its ongoing arbitration case in Stockholm, Karapetian’s conglomerate headquartered in Moscow is seeking $500 million in damages for what it calls an illegal “expropriation” of its biggest asset in Armenia. The hefty sum is believed to be comparable to ENA’s market value.
Pashinian indicated that his government will try to set a lower, “objective” price for the company reflecting its alleged mismanagement by Tashir. Petrosian repeated and elaborated on those allegations.
“If I’m not mistaken, lawyers call such practices money laundering,” Pashinian charged in what some of his critics construed as an order to law-enforcement agency to launch more criminal proceedings against ENA’s owner and top executives.
His meeting with Petrosian broadcast live by the Armenian government prompted a scathing response from Karapetian’s nephew and right-hand man Narek. The latter swiftly released a video designed to disprove the fraud allegations.
“Pashinian is, no doubt, good at discrediting people, but he doesn’t go into details,” Narek Karapetian said in a separate Facebook post. “This is his weakness, both here and everywhere.”
Samvel Karapetian was initially prosecuted for allegedly calling for a violent regime change. He was also charged with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering after deciding to set up a new opposition group that will run in the elections due in June 2026. His Mer Dzevov (In Our Way) movement is expected to be one of Pashinian’s main opposition challengers.