United States sanctioned one of the largest mine operators in Armenia, GeoProMining, a company reportedly owned by a Russian family with close ties to President Vladimir Putin.

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.

An archived page from GeoProMining’s website dating back to August 2023 lists Roman Trotsenko as a board member in the company.

On Wednesday, economist Suren Parsyan told OC Media that the US sanctions might not have a direct effect on the operation of GeoProMining’s mines in Armenia.

‘Rusal, our aluminium factory, continues to work without being sanctioned. Its Russian parent company is under sanctions, but the Armenian company is not’, he explained.

However, he warned that if the sanctions were applied to GeoProMining’s subsidiary companies and mines, it could have ‘serious consequences’ for Armenia.