Samvel Karapetyan Files Lawsuit Against France

Samvel Karapetyan, the owner of the Russian "Tashir" group of companies, initiated arbitration proceedings against France in early June 2025 at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), part of the World Bank group headquartered in Washington. This has been reported by "Kommersant," citing relevant database information.

The specifics of the case and the essence of the claims have not been disclosed; however, the subject of the dispute concerns real estate. The "Tashir" group and ICSID did not respond to inquiries from "Kommersant." According to sources, the lawsuit likely pertains to a villa valued at 120 million euros located in the Côte d'Azur (French Riviera).

Legal experts believe that the businessman's current criminal prosecution in Armenia could weaken his position in court against the French authorities.

Earlier reports indicated that a French court had frozen Karapetyan's ownership rights to the Irina Maria villa, situated in the Roquebrune-Cap-Martin resort on the French Riviera. Officially, it belongs to Armenia-born businessman Samvel Karapetyan, but the Paris Prosecutor's Office believes that the actual beneficiary is a subsidiary of the Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom.

According to the French newspaper Le Monde, the villa, known locally as Villa del Mare, is situated on 3 hectares of land and includes a main building, three swimming pools, a tennis court, and a helicopter pad. The total value of the property is estimated at 120 million euros. The order to freeze the villa's ownership rights and the shares of the owning company, SNC Maritime Villa Holding, is dated February 12, 2024.

As reported by AFP, the investigation related to the Irina Maria villa has been conducted by the Paris Prosecutor's Office, particularly by the unit combating organized crime (Junalco), since December 11, 2009, concerning money laundering activities occurring in Paris, Cyprus, Russia, and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.

It was noted that in 2016, Gazprom Neft, a subsidiary of Gazprom, sold the villa to Samvel Karapetyan. However, during Junalco's preliminary investigation, numerous facts emerged indicating that the villa had never actually left Gazprom Neft's control, as Le Monde reported.

Documents analyzed by journalists indicate that Samvel Karapetyan acquired shares of Maritime Villa Holding SNC, the property owner, through a loan of 115 million euros provided by Gazprombank.