Armenian government skirts Stockholm arbitration order, says former power grid executive

By Gevorg Tosunyan

Armenia’s government is formally acknowledging the binding nature of an emergency ruling by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce but is effectively dodging compliance by shifting responsibility onto the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC), according to David Ghazinyan, former acting director of Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA).

Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan on Wednesday, Ghazinyan accused the authorities of creating only the “imitation” of enforcement. The Stockholm tribunal ordered Armenia to refrain from appointing a temporary administrator, changing ENA’s management, revoking its license, or confiscating its assets. Yet, Ghazinyan noted, a state ally—Civil Contract party board member Romanos Petrosyan—has already been installed as interim manager.

Ghazinyan said correspondence between ENA’s chairman Narek Karapetyan and the PSRC shows that while the regulator initially claimed it lacked jurisdiction, it later sought guidance from the government. The prime minister’s office confirmed that arbitration rulings are subject to immediate and binding execution, but Ghazinyan dismissed this as “purely formal.”

“The government is simulating compliance, pretending it has no role while the commission decides. This is not a state approach,” he said, comparing it to Armenia ignoring European Court of Human Rights judgments.

According to Ghazinyan, the regulator has not suspended the interim manager’s activities, leaving ENA’s owners—Russian Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s Tashir Group—without protection. He warned that the state-appointed manager, being an extension of the government, could not defend the company’s interests. “The day will come when the manager himself agrees that ENA should lose its license and be seized,” Ghazinyan said, adding that Armenia’s taxpayers could be left to foot the bill, including roughly $4 million in fees for U.S. law firms representing the state.

Background: From Church dispute to power struggle

The ENA saga erupted in mid-June, when Samvel Karapetyan publicly defended the Armenian Apostolic Church amid Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s campaign to unseat Catholicos Karekin II. Within hours, police raided Karapetyan’s Yerevan residence, and he was arrested on charges of calling for regime change.

Days later, Pashinyan vowed to “quickly” nationalize ENA, accusing the company of creating an “energy crisis”. Parliament, dominated by the ruling Civil Contract party, fast-tracked legislation empowering regulators to strip ENA of its license, install government-appointed administrators, and transfer ownership to the state.

Opposition lawmakers branded the move unconstitutional and appealed to the Constitutional Court. Economists and legal experts warned that expropriation could trigger costly international arbitration under Armenia’s treaties with Cyprus, where ENA’s parent company is registered.

Karapetyan, who has called from detention for Armenians to rally around a “new force” in politics, has filed an investment dispute notice against the government, signaling arbitration proceedings. Meanwhile, his legal troubles mounted with fresh charges of fraud and tax evasion.