Volnort company has filed a formal complaint with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), accusing Armenia of illegally interfering in the internal corporate affairs of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), according to Aram Orbelian, managing partner at Concern Dialog Law Firm and a specialist in international law, as reported by Panorama.am .
According to Orbelian, “as a result of unlawful conduct, Volnort lost the right to acquire 75% of ZCMC shares, which would have granted it control over the company and significant dividend rights.”
Volnort argues that Armenia failed to ensure fair and equitable treatment of its investment by exerting pressure on shareholders and employees, abusing regulatory powers, and influencing court proceedings. These actions allegedly led to Volnort’s Armenian subsidiaries being denied a fair trial. The initial damage estimate is $1.5 billion but could rise to $2–3 billion, depending on data the company claims it has been unable to access, thus violating its right to information as a shareholder.
Between 2020 and 2021, the Armenian government repeatedly stated that ZCMC should be “returned to the people” and suggested this would be achieved “with a hammer.” During this period, Volnort, one of two main shareholders, began facing increasing state interference. Eventually, the company’s management sold shares to another company under unclear circumstances. That entity then transferred 15% of the shares to the state, and later the second shareholder exited, raising the state’s stake to nearly 22%.
Recognizing irregularities, Volnort took legal action demanding the right to buy the shares. However, Orbelian claims the court system was manipulated through late-night rulings, illegal interim measures, and fast-tracked decisions by regulators. As a result, 60% of ZCMC was secretly sold to an Industrial Company, which, overnight, signed a donation agreement granting shares to the Armenian government. This agreement was kept confidential for a long time.
Orbelian also noted that Volnort lost the economic rights to its original 12.5% stake in ZCMC, as those shares were indefinitely and groundlessly frozen, violating the Cyprus-Armenia bilateral investment treaty’s protections against unlawful expropriation.
