Behind bars in Baku, Vardanyan sells stake in Russian auto business

Armenian citizen Ruben Vardanyan, currently under arrest in Azerbaijan, has fully exited the Russian automotive business by selling his stake in the electric vehicle project “Atom.”

According to Kommersant, his 25% share in Voskhod LLC — the main shareholder of Kama — has been transferred to the company itself.

Ruben Vardanyan at a trial in the Baku Military Court 

Voskhod’s remaining co-owners are now KamAZ CEO Sergey Kogogin (37.5%) and Spectrum LLC (37.5%). In the fall of 2024, Vardanyan also ceased to be a co-owner of KamAZ. Experts suggest that his exit from the project is linked to his difficult situation, as he was detained in Azerbaijan in September 2023 and remains imprisoned.

Kama has confirmed plans to launch serial production of the Atom electric vehicle by the end of the year at the Moskvich plant. The expected price of the car is 3–4 million rubles, excluding government support. While most experts consulted by Kommersant are sceptical due to the high cost, they do not rule out interest from taxi and car-sharing services.

Ruben Vardanyan faces multiple charges under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including Articles 100.1, 100.2 (planning, preparing, initiating, and waging a war of aggression), 107 (deportation and forced displacement of the population), 109 (persecution), 110 (forcible disappearance of persons), 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law), 113 (torture), 114.1 (mercenary activity), 115.2 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare), 116.0.1, 116.0.2, 116.0.10, 116.0.11, 116.0.16, 116.0.18 (violation of international humanitarian law norms during an armed conflict), 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.12 (intentional murder), 29.120.2.1, 29.120.2.3, 29.120.2.4, 29.120.2.7, 29.120.2.11, 29.120.2.12 (attempted intentional murder), 192.3.1 (illegal entrepreneurship), 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 214.2.4 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism), 218.1, 218.2 (creation of a criminal group), 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, and possession of firearms, ammunition, explosives, and devices), 270-1.2, 270-1.4 (acts threatening aviation safety), 278.1 (forcible seizure or retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279.1, 279.2, 279.3 (creation of armed formations not provided for by law), and 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan).

By Khagan Isayev