Samvel Karapetyan (businessman)

Samvel Karapetyan was born on August 18, 1965, in the town of Kalinino (now Tashir) in the Armenian SSR.^{[citation needed]}

He graduated from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Yerevan Polytechnic Institute in 1986.

Karapetyan is married and has three children (two sons and a daughter).^[2][3] Karapetyan's son, Sarkis, and daughter, Tatevik, are top managers of Tashir. Tatevik also heads the area of cinema chain development.^[4] He owns an 85 meter Lurssen superyacht named ACE.^[5]

Karapetyan moved to Russia in the 1990s and in 1997, he became the president of the Kaluga-based Kalugaglavsnab OAO, which provides logistics services, including to Russia's state gas company Gazprom.^[6] He then expanded into Moscow's real estate market.^[6]

In 1999, he established the Tashir Group, a conglomerate of industrial, construction, supply and delivery companies, hotels, restaurants and other firms now numbering more than 200 in total and employing more than 30,000 people.^[1][6]

The group has made a number of investments and philanthropic endeavors in Armenia and the then-Republic of Artsakh. Tashir Group owns two large shopping complexes in Yerevan, as well as a major Armenian electricity company, Electric Networks of Armenia, among other enterprises.^[6] In 2013, Karapetyan financed the construction of a new hospital in Stepanakert, capital of the Republic of Artsakh.^[7] At the end of October 2020, Karapetyan vowed to rebuild the maternity hospital of Stepanakert City that was destroyed by the Azerbaijani bombardment on October 28.^[8] In September 2021, he announced that Tashir Group plans to invest $600 million to expand and modernize Armenia's energy sector.^[9]

In November 2017, Karapetyan was appointed the president of the football club FC Ararat Moscow, which represented the Armenian diaspora in Russia.^[10]

In January 2018, Karapetyan was named by the US Treasury Department in the so-called Putin list, consisting of 114 senior political figures and 96 oligarchs, all of whom reportedly rose to prominence under Russian President Vladimir Putin.^[11][12]

In June 2020, Karapetyan paid part of the 2 billion dram bail for ex-president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan's release from custody.^[13] One of the most significant philanthropists in Armenia, he is also one of the largest benefactors of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

In April 2021, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan opened a criminal case against Karapetyan for allegedly illegally transporting weapons to Artsakh, which Karapetyan denied, and ultimately this criminal case did not result in proof of wrongdoing.^[14]

On 18 June 2025, Karaprtyan was arrested for allegedly making public calls to usurp power and transporting military equipments, violating Part 2 of Article 422 of Armenia's Criminal Code.^[15] Karapetyan had publicly defended the Armenian Apostolic Church. Karapetyan had stated that "a small group, having forgotten Armenian history and the millennia-old legacy of the Armenian Church, has attacked the Armenian people. I have always stood with the Armenian people. If political leaders fail, we will intervene in our own way".^[16] Pashinyan stated that it was "likely" that the Russian government was using Karapetyan to wage a "hybrid operation" in the "hybrid war" against the Armenian government, and trying to find a "Ivanishvili 2.0" for Armenia. This was denied by Karapetyan’s supporters, who in turn accused Pashinyan of seeking excuses for what they describe as undemocratic tendencies.^[17]

After Karapetyan's arrest, Russia said it "[did] not wish to interfere in Armenia's internal affairs, but [are] watching everything related to a Russian national with the utmost attention". Karapetyan said from prison that his arrest was done at behest of the Azeri government, which had issued an arrest warrant for him four years ago. He said the government had destroyed Armenia's external security, ruined relations with Russia and with its military partners and "sold the public illusions" about "dreams of peace".^[17] Former President Robert Kocharyan denounced the arrest as a "national disgrace" and described Pashinyan's actions as "anti-national and unlawful".^[17] Tigran Abrahamyan, secretary of I Have Honor Alliance said the arrest appears to be aimed at removing support for the Church and "will achieve nothing."^[17] Karapetyan was ultimately transferred from prison to house arrest.

In February 2026, the Strong Armenia party was formed to contest the June parliamentary election, with Karapetyan announced as party leader and candidate for Prime Minister. To assume office, Karapetyan would need to renounce foreign citizenships and secure the support of two-thirds of parliament to remove the requirement of having been an Armenian resident years prior. Karapetyan's speech at the party conference was delivered through the use of artificial intelligence to comply with a court gag order.^[18]

In 2011, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan awarded Karapetyan with the Mesrop Mashtots Medal "for significant contribution to the promotion of national interests, long term and fruitful pro-Armenian activities, dedication to the development and advancement of the Republic of Armenia and provided services."^[19]

According to Forbes, his net worth in September 2021 was estimated at $5 billion.^[20] In March 2013 Karapetyan became the richest ethnic Armenian in the world, overtaking Armenian-American businessman Kirk Kerkorian.^[21][22]