K. Sokolov Archive

Tag: Teghut

  • Russian Bank Exits Armenia’s Teghut Mine as Investigation Identifies New Controlling Owners

    July 13,2026 (civilnet.am), by Siranush Adamyan

    Russia’s state-owned VTB Bank has sold its stake in Armenia’s Teghut copper and molybdenum mine, ending years of ownership of one of the country’s largest mining assets, according to an investigation by RFE/RL’s Armenian service based on state corporate records, published on Saturday.

    Google Maps, 2026

    The investigation found that the mine’s new ownership structure includes Russian-born U.S. businessman Konstantin Sokolov and companies associated with him. Sokolov co-owns the parent company of Viva Armenia, one of the country’s mobile operators.

    VTB acquired Teghut after its previous owner, Vallex Group, defaulted on about $400 million in loans used to finance the construction of the mining complex. But ownership became increasingly problematic after Western sanctions had been imposed on the Russian lender following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, disrupting exports and financial transactions for VTB-owned companies.

    Teghut, located in Armenia’s northern Lori province, contains the country’s second-largest copper and molybdenum deposit and is one of Armenia’s biggest taxpayers. The company paid about 14.4 billion drams ($38 million) in taxes last year.

    When VTB took control of the mine in 2018, mining operations had already been suspended over concerns about the mine’s tailings storage facility, leaving more than a thousand employees without work before production resumed under the bank’s ownership in 2019. Later in 2022, operations were disrupted again after the West had imposed sanctions on VTB; production resumed about a year later.

    VTB Chairman Andrey Kostin said in April that the bank was in the “final stages” of selling its stake but did not identify the buyer or disclose the financial terms. The transaction required approval from Armenia’s competition regulator to be completed.

    Credit: https://civilnet.am/en/news/1013051

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  • Armenian Elections Are Over. Now It’s Time to Finalize the Teghut Deal.

    June 08, 2026

    Armenia’s parliamentary elections ended as expected: Nikol Pashinyan’s party won with roughly 57% of the vote. The prime minister addressed the nation, spoke about continuity and economic development — and, of course, said nothing about a copper mine. No one expected him to.

    https://unsplash.com/@rafael_ishkhanyan

    But the political calendar matters. In Armenia, state‑level asset resolutions tend to align with major political milestones. The election result removes the last formal excuse for delay. Closing the Teghut file — cleaning up the liabilities, settling the VTB debt, and moving a Soviet‑era asset out of Russia’s sanctioned orbit — fits perfectly into his government’s declared pivot toward Europe. (For background, see our earlier deep dive: The Rise, Collapse and Bizarre Afterlife of Armenia’s Teghut Copper Mine.)

    Now that the vote is done, it’s time for Andrei Kostin, VTB’s chief, to pick up the phone and call Konstantin Sokolov: “This is Moscow speaking — time to close the ledger, Konstantin.”

    Whether the deal closes tomorrow or in six weeks, the election result clears the way. Watch for movement behind the scenes, not press releases.