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The Armenian government has transferred 15% of the shares of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) to the trust management of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF).

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan said at the same time that the stake remains a state property.

Nikol Pashinyan said, in his turn, that it is the first time the state owns the ZCMC shares. He dismissed the allegations of possible corruption risks in the deal.

"This deal seemed suspicious to many people, but the fact that the state was deprived of its main strategic asset for many years, in fact, did not arouse suspicion. As a result of corruption, the state does not win, but loses, which we have been witnessing for many years," he said.

In Pashinyan’s words, 15% of the ZCMC shares are owned by the prime minister’s office, but certain functions stemming from it should not be performed by it.

"It’s about various management-related functions, and we are transferring the management of this stake to the Armenian National Interests Fund established by us. In accordance with our share, the Armenian government will have a representative in the ZCMC Board of Directors,” he said.

Earlier on September 30, it was revealed that the Industrial Company, a GeoProMining Armenia subsidiary, acquired 60% of the ZCMC shares and then granted 15 percent of that stake to the Armenian government.