By Tass
Copyright tass
YEREVAN, September 20. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia, owned by arrested Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, will be completed, without excluding an asset transfer under international management.
“The process is continuous and will be completed according to two possible scenarios. Scenario one: Electric Networks are nationalized and placed under professional and reliable management, while remaining fully state-owned. And the second scenario: most of the shares of Electric Networks are transferred to the management of an internationally reputable manager. In this case, in any case, Armenia will retain such a number of shares that will allow the government to maintain its strategic presence in this vital infrastructure,” Pashinyan said at a congress of the Civil Contract Party as broadcast local TV channels.
He said the government will go for the second scenario only if spending in the first scenario is too heavy for the country’s budget.
The situation around Electric Networks
On June 18, the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Armenian Interior Ministry detained Karapetyan. He is charged with publicly calling for the seizure of power. The businessman pleads not guilty. The Yerevan court arrested him for two months. After that, inspections of Karapetyan’s business began, and several Pizza Tashir LLC pizzerias in Yerevan and the regions of the country were closed. Also, the government started nationalization of Karapetyan’s CJSC Electric Networks of Armenia.
On July 22, an emergency arbitration appointed by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ordered the Armenian government to refrain from expropriating Electric Networks of Armenia, but the government said it will give priority to local legislation in the issue.
