US sanctions Russian company operating Armenia’s largest mines

28/02/2024

Image source: pixelied.com / pixabay.com

The United States Department of Treasury listed GeoProMining on 23 February, the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The US State Department announced that they were targeting a network of Russian mining companies connected to the wealthy Russian Trotsenko family, believed to be close to President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

GeoProMining Armenia’s subsidiary company, the Industrial Company, owns 60% of the shares in the Zangezur Combine, one of the biggest taxpayers in Armenia. The company also owns GeoProMining Gold, which operates the Sotk gold mine, the Ararat Gold extraction factory, and the Agarak Combine.

Hetq, an Armenian investigative outlet, reported that Gleb Trotsenko, the 23-year-old son of Roman Trotsenko, was a shareholder of both GeoProMining Gold and the Zangezur-Copper-Molybdenum Combine until October 2023.

The Hetq investigation found that Gleb Trotsenko’s shares were passed on to Svetlana Yershova, a Russian citizen believed to have ties to the Trotsenko family. Yershova reportedly has ties to AEON Mining, a holding company owned by Roman Trotsenko.

AEON Mining was sanctioned alongside GeoProMining, while Gleb Trotsenko was sanctioned in November 2023.

Source and Credit: oc-media.org

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