Nikolai Vinitsky, investor with Belarusian and Russian citizenship, notifies of investment dispute against Armenia

Nikolai Vinitsky, a Belarusian-Russian investor, has threatened the Armenian government with international arbitration over interference in his joint business with Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party.

Vinitsky sent the RA Cabinet of Ministers a notice of investment dispute under three international investment protection agreements. These include agreements between Yerevan and Minsk, Yerevan and Moscow, as well as the EAEU Treaty.

The dispute concerns Vinitsky’s investments in four Armenian enterprises: Araratcement, Multi Group Concern, Multi Wellness Center, and the Yerevan Ararat Brandy-Wine-Vodka Factory. The lawsuit will be one of the first investment disputes in which the EAEU Treaty’s investment protection provisions are applied against Armenia.

Vinitsky’s investments were illegally expropriated, according to a statement distributed by Iveta Tonoyan, press secretary of the Prosperous Armenia Party. He was denied protection of his rights and the ability to use his investments as a result of “arbitrary and discriminatory measures adopted for political purposes.”

The investor is demanding that the Armenian government refrain from further unlawful actions and resolve the issues that have arisen peacefully. He is also demanding that access to management and control of the enterprises be restored to their legal shareholders, and that the idea of nationalizing the companies be abandoned. Otherwise, Vinitsky intends to seek justice in international arbitration, demanding full compensation for damages.