This article is part of a partnership with OC Media. You can read the original in English here.
An American company led by Russian-American investor Konstantin Sokolov has acquired the Teghut copper-molybdenum mine in Armenia. Sokolov was recently appointed by the US State Department to “oversee” a fund for the implementation and development of the “Trump Route” project.
Documents from the Armenian online registry of legal entities, according to the European bureau of RFE/RL, show that Dynamic Frontier Holdings has become the new shareholder of Cuprum RA, the company developing the Teghut mine.
The company was registered in Texas in August 2025 and has no registration in Armenia. Texas tax registry documents obtained by RFE/RL indicate that the head of the company is Sokolov, who is registered in Florida.
RFE/RL previously reported that Sokolov was in talks to acquire a stake of just under 50% in one of Armenia’s largest mines, purchasing shares from the sanctioned Russian state-owned VTB Bank.
Konstantin Sokolov, who lives in Chicago, also owns a controlling stake in Armenia’s largest telecom operator, Viva-MTS.
Sokolov is known for a series of acquisitions and investments in Armenia. In January 2024, his company Fedilco Group (together with Chinese investor Zhe Zhang) bought controlling stakes in the country’s largest telecom operator, Viva-MTS. Cyprus-registered Fedilco Group also holds stakes in other telecommunications companies in Armenia.
Following the acquisition of Viva-MTS in 2024, the Armenian government later that year received a 20% stake in the company through an opaque deal, the details of which remain unclear. The company stated that it transferred these shares to the state as a donation.
Shortly after the deal, the Armenian investigative outlet Hetq reported that questions existed regarding Sokolov’s actual role in Viva-MTS, and that other individuals might be more involved in managing the company.
More recently, on 14 July, The Guardian reported that Sokolov had been appointed chairman of the TRIPP+ investment fund, which is set to “oversee” more than $200 million allocated for the landmark Trump Route project. This route is intended to connect Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhchivan through Armenian territory.
The Trump Route (Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, TRIPP) is a central part of the new US engagement in the South Caucasus. It is a key outcome of the 2025 meeting in Washington between Donald Trump, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The historic talks led to the initialing (but not signing) of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as laying the groundwork for the Trump Route project.
Sokolov arrived in the US in 1997 at the age of 21. He has a long history of philanthropy and political donations, primarily to the Republican Party.
His largest donation was $100 million to the University of Chicago in 2025 to support the Booth School of Business, from which he graduated in 2005.
In addition, Sokolov has supported various Republican initiatives and candidates, including $11 million to a Trump super PAC during his second term and an undisclosed sum to the “White House Ballroom” project.