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Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko, owner of the GeoProMining group, has not yet paid for 60% of the shares of Armenia’s mining giant Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), Pastinfo reported on Tuesday, citing its sources.

Industrial Company, a GeoProMining Armenia subsidiary, acquired 60% of the ZCMC shares earlier in 2021 and then granted 15 percent of that stake to the Armenian government. It also seeks to acquire the Teghut mine shares. In addition, the company owns the Sotk Gold Mine, Agarak Copper and Molybdenum Combine and Meghradzor gold mine.

The Armenian government keeps secret the details of the suspicious deal on the sale of the ZCMC shares, refusing to publish the contract and the price of the deal. The government did not answer a question of Pastinfo about whether the money for the ZCMC shares had been paid.

However, Pastinfo revealed that the stock prices were very low. Nevertheless, Trotsenko could not pay the sum immediately and acquired the shares on the condition of deferred payment. In addition, there were problems with lending to the transaction, as some banks observed risks in terms of the legality of the purchase of shares and avoided granting loans, the media outlet said.

Russia’s former Minister of Health and Social Development Mikhail Zurabov, who owns 12.5% of the ZCMC shares, filed a lawsuit to a court in Syunik in August this year, asking for a preference to acquire the ZCMC shares in the event of its alienation. He also filed a motion to impose a ban on 75% of the shares. The court agreed to hear the lawsuit and applied a measure to secure the claim on August 2, seizing 75% of the shares of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine.

Later on September 30, the Syunik Court of General Jurisdiction ruled to lift the seizure of shares and the GeoProMining subsidiary acquired them immediately after it.

The Zangezur Mining LLC challenged the legality of the decision to lift the ban and filed an appeal. “There is a high probability that the transaction may be declared illegal. Moreover, it may become a subject of discussion in the International Court of Arbitration in terms of the violation of the shareholder rights, thus the banks refrain from financing the transaction,” Pastinfo said.