Owner of Tashir Group of Companies to Compete for Villa on French  Riviera

ArmInfo.  Samvel Karapetyan, owner of the Russian Tashir Group, has started legal proceedings against France in the International Center for Settlement of  Investment Disputes (ICSID - part of the World Bank Group,  headquartered in Washington). The claim probably concerns the  businessman's seized villa on the Cote d'Azur worth EUR 120 million,  the Kommersant newspaper reports, citing the relevant court database.

According to the publication, the businessman's current criminal  prosecution in Armenia may weaken his position in court against the  French authorities.

The case materials and the essence of the claims are not specified,  but the subject of the dispute was real estate. Tashir Group and  ICSID did not respond to Kommersant's request.

In early 2024, a French court froze Samvel Karapetyan's ownership of  the Irina Maria villa and 3 hectares of land in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin  for his closeness to the current Russian authorities. Recall that the  day before, the Yerevan court of general jurisdiction arrested the  president of the Tashir Group of Companies, Samvel Karapetyan, for  two months. He is accused of calling for the overthrow of the state  system. The businessman himself denies these charges.