The government declared ownership of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) operator an “overriding public interest,” a necessary step for completing the nationalization process in the coming months.
“Our Plan A is for [ENA] to become state property and for us to hand over its management to a top-tier global company,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told a cabinet meeting in Yerevan. “We have no intention of privatizing it. If, for objective reasons, it turns out that we cannot implement our Plan A, only then will we move on to discussing other plans.”
Pashinian first called for ENA’s nationalization in June 2025 just hours after Karapetian was arrested on charges stemming from his strong criticism of Pashinian’s crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Karapetian was also charged with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering following his subsequent decision to set up his own political group that was the main opposition contender in the June 2026 parliamentary elections. The tycoon, who was moved to house arrest in December, rejects all the accusations as politically motivated.
The government seized ENA in July 2025 before having the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) revoke the operating license of its parent company, which is part of Tashir Group, Karapetian’s Moscow-based business conglomerate. It accused Tashir of mismanaging the utility.
Tashir appealed to the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) against what it calls an illegal “expropriation” of Karapetian’s biggest asset in Armenia. It is seeking $500 million in damages.
The arbitration body ordered the Armenian authorities to refrain from seizing ENA, changing the company’s top management or revoking Tashir’s operating license pending a verdict in the case. The authorities ignored the order.
Armenia - Businessman Samvel Karapetian is greeted by supporters as he is moved back to house arrest, Yerevan, January 19, 2026.
In February this year, the government formally offered Tashir to give up ENA’s ownership practically for free. Karapetian’s representatives laughed off the offer.
Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Davit Khudatian said on Thursday that the government will make another compensation offer to Tashir during the nationalization process. The latter will almost certainly reject it too.
Karapetian, who now leads Armenia’s largest opposition group, insisted last month that ENA is “not for sale.” He also expressed confidence that Pashinian’s administration will eventually have to return the company to its “rightful owner.”
The tycoon and his representatives did not immediately react to the latest government decision. Davit Ghazinuian, ENA’s former chief executive who is now a senior member of Karapetian’s Strong Armenia alliance, insisted earlier that no reputable energy firm will agree to take over the utility amid the ongoing arbitration proceedings in Stockholm.
Tashir claims to have invested at least $700 million in ENA and sharply cut its losses since buying the utility from Russia’s RAO UES energy giant in 2015. The acquisition followed street protests in Yerevan against a UES attempt to raise electricity prices in Armenia. Tashir has kept the prices largely unchanged.