ArmInfo. The Armenian government's October 15 decision to recognize the state's preemptive right to nationalize 100% of the shares of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC is yet another violation of the decision of the emergency arbitrator appointed by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce on July 22, 2025. This was stated in a statement released by Tashir Capital, the company of Strong Armenia bloc leader Samvel Karapetyan.
The company recalled that with this decision, the emergency arbitrator obliged the government to refrain from any steps aimed at expropriating ENA.
"The Armenian government's commitment to comply with this decision was also directly confirmed in December 2025 by the arbitration panel formed to consider the main dispute. We are compelled to note that the Armenian government and state bodies have repeatedly violated the guarantees established by the aforementioned decision, including by revoking ENA's electricity distribution license in November 2025. The government's decision of October 15, 2026, is yet another illegal act adopted as part of the ENA expropriation process. Thus, the government is ignoring and directly violating its obligations under international law, stemming from the rules adopted by Armenia to ensure the protection of foreign investments," the company stated.
It is added that such illegal actions will undoubtedly receive appropriate international legal assessment, and the Armenian government will be obligated to compensate investors for all damages caused by the state's violation of its international obligations.
As a reminder, since 2016, Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC has belonged to Samvel Karapetyan's Tashir Group of Companies. In 2025, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced his intention to nationalize ENA following Karapetyan's statement expressing public support for the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) and his arrest. Parliament later adopted amendments to laws providing for the return of Electric Grids to state control. On July 18, the head of the Public Services Regulatory Commission appointed Romanos Petrosyan as interim manager. Petrosyan, starting on July 24, began making the first personnel changes among the company's high-ranking officials, despite the Stockholm Arbitration Court's decision not to change the composition of the company's governing bodies and refrain from actions aimed at expropriating the company. On August 9, Electric Grids of Armenia shareholder and Tashir Capital CEO Narek Karapetyan filed a lawsuit in the Administrative Court of Armenia against the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) and its Chairman, Mesrop Mesropyan, demanding that the PSRC be declared ineligible to replace the company's management.
By a PSRC decision dated November 17, 2025, Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC was stripped of its electricity transmission license. The decision details the violations the commission found in the company's operations. On March 3, 2026, Romanos Petrosyan, interim manager of ENA and a member of the board of the ruling Civil Contract party, announced that the state was preparing for the full nationalization of ENA shares, recognizing it as a priority public interest, and to pay compensation to the owner, Tashir Capital. He clarified that February 21 was the deadline for the government to make an offer, conduct negotiations, and, as a result of the transaction, 100% of the company's shares would be transferred to the state. The interim manager, however, declined to disclose the specific value of ESA or the price proposed by the government.
Meanwhile, Pashinyan previously stated that the company's price could be reduced under certain circumstances. The prime minister explained that the company had long been used for narrow personal purposes. Furthermore, according to available information, ESA is burdened with loan obligations, which were then transferred to close associates and relatives without interest. Meanwhile, David Ghazinyan, a member of the Strong Armenia party board and former ESA CEO, stated that the real value of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) is close to $1 billion, and the company's owners will not agree to sell it at a reduced price.
