The government formally made the decision last week more than a year after seizing the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) operator and installing a new management there following Karapetian’s arrest.
Karapetian was initially prosecuted on charges stemming from his strong criticism of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church. Law-enforcement authorities claim that the criticism amounted to calls for a violent overthrow of the country’s leadership.
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.
In an interim measure taken in July 2025, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) ordered the Armenian authorities to refrain from seizing ENA or changing the electric utility’s top management. The authorities ignored the order.
The government’s October 15 decision to declare ENA an “overriding public interest” is a necessary step for completing the nationalization process in the coming months. Karapetian’s Tashir Kapital company, which had acquired ENA in 2015, described it as “yet another violation” of the international arbitration body’s injunction.
“Thus, the government is disregarding and directly violating its obligations under international law that arise from the regulatory framework Armenia has adopted to ensure the protection of foreign investments,” the company said in its first official reaction to the development.
“Such unlawful actions will undoubtedly be subject to appropriate international legal assessment, and the government of the Republic of Armenia will be required to compensate investors for all damages caused by the state’s breach of its international obligations,” added a statement released by Tashir.
Tashir is seeking $500 million in damages for what it calls an illegal expropriation of Karapetian’s biggest asset in Armenia. The Cyprus-registered company claims to have invested at least $700 million in ENA.
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. According to Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Davit Khudatian, the government will make another compensation offer to Tashir during the nationalization process.
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.”