Armenia's Number One Taxpayer Under EU Sanctions: Traces of Expropriation

The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" reports that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, when stating that no one would have their business taken away, meant that it would be arranged in such a way that the entrepreneur would be forced to gift part of their business to the government.

On September 30, 2021, it became known that the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine acquired a new shareholder, a Russian billionaire with a questionable biography, Roman Trotsenko. It turned out that his "Industrial Company" stockholder had acquired 60% of the shares of Armenia’s number one taxpayer, the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCM), and hurriedly gifted 15% of the total capital to the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia.

It is noteworthy that by the end of 2023, billionaire businessman Roman Trotsenko sold 69% of his shares to AEON Infrastructure Corporation. The newspaper "Zhoghovurd" has learned that after entering the Armenian business sector, all indirect shares belonging to Trotsenko's company were sold to Svetlana Ershov. However, it was established that Svetlana Ershova has always been a member of Roman Trotsenko's corporations, holding managerial positions. This raises the possibility that a formal transaction may have taken place.

Everything seems to be in order, yet Armenia's major taxpayer company has fallen into the hands of a Russian magnate and is on the European Union's sanctions list, as reported by the Russian news agency "Interfax". Simultaneously, the Armenian government is making broad strides toward the West and the European Union. It is interesting to consider whether the EU is anticipating Armenia in these circumstances.