Jailed Russian-Armenian tycoon’s family files $500mn lawsuit against Yerevan

Samvel Karapetyan’s relatives are demanding that the government provide compensation for losses linked to the nationalization of his company

The family of a jailed Russian-Armenian tycoon has reportedly launched a $500 million case against the government of Armenia, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, over the nationalization of his company.

Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in June after allegedly calling for the seizure of power while publicly supporting the Armenian Apostolic Church in an ongoing confrontation with Pashinyan. Following Karapetyan’s arrest, the prime minister announced that “it is time to nationalize” Karapetyan’s firm, Electric Grids of Armenia, and called for swift action.

The Armenian parliament later passed legislation enabling the state to confiscate the company. The nation’s utility services regulator opened a case against Electric Grids of Armenia in mid-July and temporarily put a senior member of Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party in charge of the company.

The family wants Yerevan to provide compensation for both existing and expected future damage, TASS reported, citing sources close to Karapetyan.

Read more

Earlier, the businessman’s relatives also filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), a tribunal that specializes in commercial and investor-state disputes, invoking a 1995 bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus.

In late July, the tribunal ruled that Yerevan must refrain from taking any further steps to seize the electric utility company. The decision is binding on the Armenian government. The businessman himself has remained in custody since June 18, following a court decision that placed him under arrest for two months as a probe against him is ongoing.

Karapetyan is one of several high-profile figures to have been targeted in Yerevan’s recent crackdown on the opposition. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, have also been detained.

The arrests came in response to mass protests led by the church and its supporters. The demonstrators accused Pashinyan of betraying Armenia’s national interests by handing over several border villages to Azerbaijan.

Moscow has said that it is closely monitoring the developments, particularly those concerning Karapetyan, who holds Russian citizenship.