July 15, 2026 (Azatutyun.am Investigative Interview)
VTB Bank wanted to dump the toxic Teghut copper-molybdenum mine. Sanctions had made the asset radioactive. The official line: “bankers shouldn’t dig for copper.”
So VTB structured a deal that would make a Hollywood screenwriter blush. Enter Sergey Virabyan — a former mid-level government official, a banker who never worked in mining, and a man with no visible assets and no apparent reason to own a $22 billion deposit.
Here’s how it worked:
- The Phantom Frontman. In February 2026, Virabyan registers “Kuprar RA”. He is the sole shareholder and director. The company has no website, no track record, no history.
- The Blind Regulator. On July 7, the Competition Protection Commission approves the concentration. It publishes no information about the buyer’s revenue, assets or beneficial owners.
- The Houdini Exit. Virabyan had already left the company by June 5 — before the deal was even approved.
When investigators from Azatutyun asked him who now owns Teghut, the conversation turned into a masterclass of nominee deflection:
— Are you the new owner of Teghut?
— No.— But you owned Kuprar RA?
— I used to. Not anymore.— To whom did you transfer your share?
— That is a commercial secret.— Is Konstantin Sokolov the buyer?
— I cannot say. You are asking commercial things.
Virabyan’s clumsy interview sounds exactly like this legendary clash of identities in The Big Lebowski. While the public looks at the Teghut registry expecting to see a real, deep-pocketed tycoon (Sokolov), they are instead forced to listen to a shell proxy desperately repeating that he is just a random guy who has nothing to do with the heavy corporate lifting.
“Let me explain something to you. I am not Mr. Lebowski. You’re Mr. Lebowski. I’m the Dude.”
Officially, the new owner of Teghut is unknown. Unofficially, everyone in Yerevan’s financial and political circles knows exactly who stands behind the deal.
Let’s be clear: Sokolov is a man holding at least Russian, American and Maltese passports. He is an international wallet for opaque transactions, a high-tier proxy who sanitises assets that other banks won’t touch. Teghut is not his first Armenian project, and it won’t be his last.