Samvel Karapetyan's family initiates investment arbitration against Republic of Armenia over expropriation of ENA
YEREVAN, August 12. /ARKA/. The family of Samvel Karapetyan, the president of the Tashir Group who was arrested in Armenia, has initiated investment arbitration against the Republic of Armenia over the expropriation of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), owned by Tashir Group, Karapetyan's lawers reported in a Facebook post.
"The proceedings were initiated on the basis of the Agreement on the Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments signed on January 18, 1995, between the Republic of Armenia and Cyprus," their statement reads.
Karapetyan's family is demanding that the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal oblige the Republic of Armenia to compensate them for the damages already incurred and the projected damages, which according to preliminary estimates is $500 million. This amount is subject to final assessment by the tribunal.
On July 22, 2025, Samvel Karapetyan's defense council announced that Karapetyan and his family had won an emergency arbitration case against the Armenian government regarding the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA).
The tribunal prohibited the Armenian government from confiscating or selling ENA's assets, altering ENA's management structure, revoking ENA's licenses, or otherwise restricting the company's business operations.
In response, the government stated that appointing an interim manager for ENA does not contradict the Stockholm Arbitration Award and aims to prevent crises and identify violations in the company's operations.
According to Minister of Justice, Srbuhi Galyan, t Armenia has the right under domestic legislation and an international convention, not to implement the Stockholm Arbitration Award if it is contrary to public order.
Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in June on accusations of calling for a power seizure after he publicly supported the Armenian Apostolic Church in its conflict with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration. Following the arrest, Pashinyan declared it was time to nationalize Karapetyan’s company, Electric Netwroks of Armenia, and the Armenian parliament passed laws allowing the state to seize it.
In response, the Karapetyan family filed a lawsuit at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), citing a 1995 bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus.
The SCC ruled that Armenia must halt any efforts to enforce the new legislation or confiscate the company, warning that such actions would hinder the family’s ability to recover damages if they lose control.-0-
