Your trusted source

The RA Civil Court of Appeals ruled that the Syunik Court of General Jurisdiction erred in its conclusion on lifting the ban imposed on 75% of the shares of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) and annuled the ruling, Pastinfo reports. 

To remind, 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. The court not only agreed to hear the lawsuit but also applied a measure, 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 a subsidiary belonging to Russian billionaire Roman Trotsenko, owner of the GeoProMining group, acquired them immediately after it. After the deal, Trotsenko granted 15 percent of the shares of the Molybdenum Combine to the Government of Armenia.  

According to the source, 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. Time has proven that the concerns of the Banks were true and the risks for the legality of the purchase were more than considerable. 

As Pastinfo had reported, the representatives of Mikhail Zurabov appealed the ruling at the Civil Court of Appeals, demanding the annulment of the court ruling on lifting the measure. 

The representatives of the plaintiff declared that since the beginning of the court hearing on the measure, the plaintiff was deprived of independent and impartial judicial proceedings, pointing also to the haste on the part of the Court in taking the case into proceeding and the ruling.