The Karapetyan family has initiated investment arbitration against the Republic of Armenia in the case of expropriation of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC (ENA). This is stated in the statement of lawyer Samvel Karapetyan.
On August 11, 2025, Samvel Karapetyan and his family formally initiated international arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Armenia to hold Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC (ENA) liable for expropriation.
The proceedings were initiated on the basis of the “Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments” signed between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Cyprus on January 18, 1995.
The dispute arose as a result of the repressions of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan against Samvel Karapetyan and his business interests in Armenia following his public defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Following the Prime Minister’s threats, on June 17, 2025, police raided Karapetyan’s home and arrested him on charges of calling for the seizure of power. Samvel Karapetyan remains in custody.
On the same day, the Prime Minister announced that ENA, one of the Karapetyan family’s largest assets in Armenia, would be transferred to state management. The government acted quickly, drafting and submitting to the National Assembly within days bills on transferring the company under control, which were adopted within two weeks. Based on these laws, the Public Services Regulatory Commission immediately initiated administrative proceedings against ENA and appointed Romanos Petrosyan, previously the head of the State Supervision Service, as the company’s manager.
The Karapetyan family, in order to protect their investments and in accordance with the requirements of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), had previously notified the Republic of Armenia and offered to hold negotiations. However, the Armenian government, despite its international obligations, deliberately refused to negotiate.
Subsequently, the Karapetyan family was forced to apply to urgent arbitration appointed by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) to protect their rights. On July 22, 2025, the urgent arbitration ordered the Republic of Armenia to refrain from applying the new laws and from taking any action aimed at confiscating ENA. On August 4, 2025, the urgent arbitration confirmed that Armenia must immediately comply with this award. Despite these decisions, the Armenian authorities publicly rejected its binding force and continued their actions against ENA. Romanos Petrosyan dismissed key executives and other employees of the company.
In their arbitration claim, the Karapetyan family claims that the actions of the Republic of Armenia are arbitrary, discriminatory, politically motivated and aimed at depriving them of their ownership rights to ENA. In particular, these actions violate a number of obligations assumed by the Republic of Armenia under the bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus. First, Armenia has failed to provide the Karapetyan family and their investments with fair and equitable treatment and full protection. Second, Armenia’s violent takeover of the ENA administration constitutes an illegal expropriation in violation of an international treaty.
The Karapetyan family demands that the arbitration court order the Republic of Armenia to compensate for the damages already incurred, as well as for the damages, “According to a preliminary assessment, the amount of damages is US$500 million and is subject to a final assessment by the arbitration court,” the statement reads.