2024-07-29 13:20:09
Roman Trotsenko, who aspires to gain monopoly positions in Armenia’s mining industry, turns out to be insolvent and, according to reports, has not yet paid the money needed to acquire the shares of “Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine”, “Pastinfo” writes.
On September 30, it became known that the “Industrial Company” joint-stock company acquired 60% of the shares of “Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine” and hastened to donate 15% of the total capital of ZPMK to the RA government. “Industrial Company” is a company belonging to “Geopromining Armenia”, which claims to acquire Teghut as well. This company also owns Sotki gold mine, Agarak copper-molybdenum combine and Meghradzor mine.
The government keeps secret the details of the suspicious transaction regarding the sale of Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine shares, refuses to disclose the contract, the price of the transaction. The government did not answer the media’s question whether the money was paid. However, “Pastinfo” managed to find out that the sale price of the shares was set quite low, however, Trotsenko still could not pay even that amount, and the contract provided for a deferred payment condition. In addition, problems have arisen for the crediting of the transaction, as some banks have seen risks in terms of the legality of the acquisition of shares, and avoid providing credit.
As it is known, the former Minister of Health and Social Development of Russia, Mikhail Zurabov, the owner of 12.5 percent of ZPMK shares, applied to the court with the demand to give him preference to acquire the shares of the combine in case of alienation, and at the same time submitted a motion to impose a lien on 75% of the total shares.
As early as August 2, the court not only accepted the claim, but also applied a means of securing the claim, placing a lien on 75% of the total shares of “Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine”.
On September 30, the court of general jurisdiction of Syunik region made a decision to cancel the security measure of the claim, after which the shares were bought by “Industrial Company” JSC, a subsidiary of “Geopromining” LLC, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko. Immediately after the deal, Trotsenko donated 15% of the purchased shares to the RA government.
“Zangezur Mining” LLC disputed the legality of the decision to remove the shares from the lien and filed an appeal. And there is a high probability that the transaction may be recognized as illegal, moreover, it may also become a subject of discussion in the international arbitration court in the context of violation of shareholder’s rights, therefore, banks refrain from financing this transaction.
According to “Pastinfo” sources, Trotsenko acquired the shares under the condition of deferred payment, and at a rather low price, which is less than the dividends received in nearly two years. If the circulating information is confirmed, it can be noted that the company owned by Trotsenko acquired 60 percent of the shares of “Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine” almost “for free”.
And Trotsenko did not even pay this amount. In the absence of necessary resources, how he is going to implement the other promised multi-billion dollar investments and the construction of the copper smelter is another question, it will be addressed separately. It should be noted that the owner of 12.5 percent of ZMPK demands in a court order not only to declare the said transaction invalid, but also to alienate it as a preferred entity under the same conditions as the shares were alienated to a third party.
In addition, the fact that the “Geopromining” company today has a problem with Azerbaijan regarding the operation of the Sotki mine also raises concerns, because it is not excluded that the Azerbaijani side may initiate a legal dispute to demand compensation for the operation of the mine, it is also not excluded. that in the event of a court dispute, the shares of the mine or a part of them may be transferred to Azerbaijan. In this way, serious problems will emerge in the context of Armenia’s economic security, including ensuring exploitation of the subsoil.