Narek Karapetyan: ENA license revocation aimed at turning utility into ruling party financier just like ZCMC

The Armenian government’s decision to revoke the license of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) was politically motivated and intended to turn the utility into a funding source for the ruling Civil Contract party, a senior Tashir Group executive stated on Monday.

Narek Karapetyan, First Vice-President of the Tashir Group and co-founder of the Our Way (Mer Dzevov) movement, claimed that regulators acted “under pressure” despite a Stockholm arbitration ruling related to the case.

“After the Public Services Regulatory Commission revoked ENA’s license, I said this was done so the company could become another structure financing Civil Contract during elections just like the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) in Kajaran,” Karapetyan said.

Karapetyan noted that officials who previously commented on trivial matters, such as his footwear, have remained silent on the issue. “They are not interested in the economy, the country’s reputation, or the arbitration ruling. Do you know why they have remained silent after my statement? You know why,” he said.

In an earlier social-media post, he claimed the license withdrawal was intended to secure funding for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party ahead of upcoming elections.

Tashir Group owner and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, a prominent businessman and Forbes-listed billionaire, has been in detention since June. His legal team and human rights advocates say he is facing political persecution.

Karapetyan was detained shortly after publicly criticizing Pashinyan’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church. Following his comments, the prime minister posted on Facebook questioning the motives of “promiscuous ‘clergymen’ and their promiscuous ‘benefactors’,” adding, “We will neutralize them again, this time permanently.”

Masked law-enforcement officers searched Karapetyan’s residence hours later and he subsequently appeared before the Investigative Committee. He was arrested on June 18 on charges of publicly calling for the violent seizure of power in Armenia. In October, prosecutors brought an additional charge of large-scale money laundering allegedly committed through abuse of influence.

Last week, a Yerevan court extended his pre-trial detention until January 18.