On August 11, Samvel Karapetyan and his family formally initiated international arbitration proceedings against Armenia over the expropriation of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA).
The case is based on the January 18, 1995 “Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments” signed between Armenia and Cyprus, according to Karapetyan’s defense council.
In their claim, the Karapetyan family alleges that Armenia’s actions were arbitrary, discriminatory, politically motivated, and aimed at depriving them of ownership rights over ENA. They argue that these measures violate several obligations Armenia undertook under the Armenia–Cyprus Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), including failure to ensure fair and equitable treatment, full protection for the family and their investments, and engaging in unlawful expropriation.
The family is seeking an arbitral order compelling Armenia to compensate both actual and future damages. The preliminary estimated damages stand at $500 million, subject to final assessment by the arbitral tribunal.
According to their statement, the dispute arose after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan allegedly initiated a campaign of pressure against Karapetyan and his business interests in Armenia following his public defense of the Armenian Apostolic Church. On June 17, 2025, police raided Karapetyan’s home and arrested him on charges of calling for the seizure of power. He remains in custody.
That same day, the prime minister announced that ENA, one of the family’s largest assets in Armenia, would be transferred to state management. The government rapidly drafted and submitted legislation to the National Assembly to take over the company’s management, which was passed within two weeks. Based on this legislation, the Public Services Regulatory Commission launched an administrative process against ENA and appointed Romanos Petrosyan, former head of the State Oversight Service, as the company’s manager.
The Karapetyan family had earlier notified Armenia of their intent to protect their investments under the BIT and proposed negotiations, but the government refused.
Subsequently, they applied for emergency arbitration through the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC). On July 22, 2025, the emergency arbitrator ordered Armenia to refrain from applying the new laws or taking any action toward expropriating ENA. On August 4, the arbitrator reaffirmed that Armenia must comply immediately. However, the authorities publicly rejected the binding nature of these rulings and continued their actions, with Petrosyan dismissing key ENA executives and other staff.
