Category: 2022

Judge Anahit Tumanyan, who is presiding over the Zangezur Mining vs. Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) case, is facing pressure, Pastinfo reports, citing its sources.

“She is not only threatened with possible punitive measures, but also being blackmailed. The female judge is threatened with the disclosure of information concerning her personal life as well as the release of a video recording, which could also affect her family relationships,” the media outlet says.

Former Russian Health Minister Mikhail Zurabov, who owns 12.5% of the ZCMC shares, sued the mining giant, asking the court to invalidate the sale of its 60% shares to Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko’s GeoProMining Gold.

On September 30, 2021, Industrial Company JSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trotsenko's GeoProMining, mysteriously acquired 60% of the ZCMC shares and promptly donated a quarter of that stake to the Armenian government. The granted 25% of the shares make up 15% of the ZCMC equity. Trotsenko’s company acquired the shares immediately after they were unfrozen by an Armenian court.

The judge was expected to issue a ruling in the case last week, but it was postponed.

Pastinfo says the government experts studied the court case and concluded that the Zangezur Mining's claim was well grounded, while any meddling in the case would have negative consequences both on the investment environment and in international courts, where the government is highly likely to lose huge sums. Nevertheless, Roman Trotsenko’s lobbyists seem to have won the debates, and it was decided to force the court to dismiss the lawsuit at all costs.”

“To our knowledge, the judge has been warned that there is an intimate video the release of which is not in her family's interests. Instead, she has been assured that if she rules in favor of the government, they will forget not only about the tape, but also will help her promote and make it to the Supreme Judicial Council,” Pastinfo says.

“As reported earlier, a top American official urged Nikol Pashinyan "not to flirt" with oligarch Roman Trotsenko, who is among those sanctioned by the U.S. But in recent years, Trotsenko and a number of senior Armenian officials have been linked by various ties, the severance of which seems to frighten officials, and they are trying to safeguard the 2021 corrupt deal at all costs. Whereas, the government, according to our diplomatic sources, has been warned that a number of American and European institutions are monitoring Trotsenko's move to take over Armenia's mining sector.

“The much-debated court case is in fact about "screwing" the minority shareholder of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine and taking away their business. And the outcome of the case is a benchmark, as foreign experts say, which would make it clear to European and American investors whether a number of vital rights of minority shareholders are protected or not.

“With regard to the other minority ZCMC shareholder, the government, which is represented by the Armenian National Interests Fund, as we have already reported, its participation in the management of the combine is an imitation. At least, we have not received any evidence to the contrary from ANIF.

“Actually, in the light of the above said, "Don't flirt with Trotsenko" has much deeper meaning, while "flirting" may have much worse and far-reaching consequences, as, under Nikol Pashinyan’s rule, the attitude of the oligarch of Russian origin towards a minority shareholder of the ZCMC and ignoring their legal interests, from the perspective of foreign investors, in particular American and European, is of fundamental importance in terms of ensuring their own business interests in the Republic of Armenia and that's where the Shoe pinches,” the media outlet wrote.

The Yerevan subway resumed services on Wednesday morning following a strike that disrupted its operation for nearly four hours.

All stations were closed from 6am after the metro drivers went on a strike to demand pay rises.

“Following negotiations between the subway administration and the drivers, the Yerevan metro services resumed from 9:30am,” it said in a statement.

Mamikon Aslanyan, who won a second term in the Vanadzor municipal elections in December 2021 and was arrested shortly afterwards, has been taken to a civilian hospital after feeling sick, lawyer Arsen Babayan, a senior member of the opposition Homeland Party, said on Telegram on Wednesday.

“I was told a short while ago that elected Vanadzor Mayor and political prisoner Mamikon Aslanyan was being moved from the Vardashen Penitentiary to a civilian hospital,” he wrote.

“Mamikon Aslanyan’s health condition deteriorated dramatically,” he said.

Aslanyan was arrested on 15 December on charges of abuse of office and fraud. The law enforcement authorities claim that he illegally privatized municipal land during his tenure as Vanadzor mayor from 2016 to 2021.

An opposition bloc led by Aslanyan won the local election with around 39% of the vote. The ruling Civil Contract party finished second with 25%.

Vardan Voskanyan, an expert on Iranian studies, has reflected on a meeting of the Turkic-speaking countries held in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata on Tuesday.

The leaders of the countries’ special services also met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, the expert said on Telegram.

“It’s worth noting that the meeting with the heads of special services of Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan was attended by two representatives of Azerbaijan, particularly the heads of the State Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service, which indicates how seriously the Baku dictatorial regime, in fact, takes such events coordinated by Turkey, which have far-reaching pan-Turkic goals,” Voskanyan wrote.

He highlighted that Turkmenistan did not participate in the meeting, which “causes a geographical and geopolitical gap in the establishment of the illusory Turan.”

“Therefore, from the security point of view concerning Armenia, the meeting should be of interest to us not only because it involves Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which are in alliance with Armenia within the CSTO, as well as hostile countries Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also because Turkmenistan is not taking part in it,” Voskanyan said.

“In general, it is such important events that should be part of the real agenda, which Armenia should deal with in a broad sense, rather than the short-term clown tricks with which they are trying to direct us, figuratively speaking, to TikTok with the pointer"Armenia," where the ‘key agenda’ of discussion imposed on us is conditionally someone's ‘nose picking’,” he added.

Vahagn Vermishyan, the former head of the Armenian government's Urban Development Committee, has been refused to be transferred from the penitentiary institution to a hospital, his lawyer Alexander Kochubaev said in a statement posted on social media on Wednesday.

Vermishyan felt ill during his trial on Monday, as a result of which the court hearing was interrupted.

"I have just talked to Vahagn Vermishyan and found out that he has submitted an application to be moved to a hospital, but it is not being addressed. Every effort is being made to conceal his health problems," said Kochubaev.

The lawyer urged the Ministry of Justice to ensure that his client is transported to a hospital "instead of releasing meaningless statements."

Vermishyan was arrested in February 2020 on bribery charges.