Diamonds from Russia continue to enter EU and U.S. markets despite G7 and EU sanctions against Alrosa — Russia’s largest producer and one of the world’s leading players in the industry. This was reported by journalists from OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) along with several European media outlets.
Armenia has become the key transit hub for circumventing restrictions, with precious stones worth hundreds of millions of dollars being supplied through the country.
The main tool of the scheme is the First Diamond Company (FDC), established in Russia in May 2022. Formally, it is independent from Alrosa, but its owners and top managers are closely linked to the state-owned giant. The official owner is Regina Sobol, a former employee of Alrosa’s sales department, while its first CEO was Evgeny Tsybukov, who had previously worked at Alrosa Diamonds’ Moscow branch.
Since late 2022, FDC has been actively exporting diamonds to Armenia. According to OCCRP, nearly half of all diamonds imported into Armenia are of Russian origin. From January 2023 to March 2024 alone, FDC exported over $290 million worth of diamonds.
Russia has maintained supplies through intermediaries tied to one of the world’s largest players — the Indian jewelry conglomerate KGK Group.
Until 2022, KGK openly worked with Alrosa, but after the war began, it removed references to its Russian projects. FDC’s key counterparty became Imperial Diamond.
Large volumes of Russian stones are also traded via Indian companies Gloria Gems Trading and Mohit Diamonds. The former is linked to KGK Group and jewelry houses in Belgium and the UAE, while the latter — a former direct partner of Alrosa — supplies 20% of its output to the U.S. and 8% to Belgium. The total turnover of FDC with its three largest intermediaries — Imperial Diamond, Gloria Gems Trading, and Mohit Diamonds — exceeds 270 billion rubles.
Alrosa has also established several other companies to bypass sanctions. Among them are Trading Horizons (registered in February 2024, with former Alrosa employees as directors) and Diamond Trading House (DTH), launched in November 2022 by Elena Smirnova, an employee of Alrosa’s sole sales company. Though formally independent, these firms transfer their revenue to Alrosa under agency contracts. Through these structures, Russian diamonds also continue to flow into Europe and the U.S.
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