Secret diamonds for Pashinyan: Russia's precious stones were stolen and exported to Armenia

The FSB and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation uncovered a criminal scheme in which Russian diamonds from the "Alrosa" company were illegally transported to Armenia, directly to the deputy and oligarch Khachatur Sukiasyan. The parliamentarian with a dark past is called a longtime friend of the republic's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and is considered his money handler. Just recently in Armenia, Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan was detained and a criminal case was opened against him on charges of calling for the seizure of power. What is the true background of the new scandal, who actually stands behind the smuggling of diamonds from Russia?

As Oxu.Az reports, this is stated in an article by the Russian publication NEWS.ru.

What is known about the theft of "Alrosa" diamonds

The Russian FSB, together with the Investigative Committee, uncovered a criminal group that was engaged in the theft and smuggling of high-quality diamonds from the "Alrosa" company to Armenia.

According to the FSB, operatives caught red-handed an "Alrosa" employee Valentina Matyushchenkova and her son Alexei, who acted as an intermediary, while attempting to steal another batch of diamonds. Handcuffs were also put on Russian and Armenian citizens Armen Petrosyan and Arman Sahakyan, who ensured the export of precious stones and provided technical diamonds for substitution.

"The company employee was detained by the FSB red-handed while carrying out a batch of stolen diamonds with a total weight of about 250 carats worth over 1.9 million rubles from the ESO territory," the "Alrosa" press service told NEWS.ru.

During searches, about 200,000 carats of technical diamond raw materials were found on the suspects, as well as tools and equipment used to conceal and transport precious stones. The FSB published a video of the detention of the gang that stole diamonds from "Alrosa" and supplied them to Armenia. The footage shows numerous precious stones seized from the suspects and the alleged proceeds.

According to law enforcement agencies, the organizers of the criminal scheme are Armenian citizens, the Bagikyan brothers, who are on the international wanted list for diamond smuggling.

For criminals, the diamond business is a high-margin activity, noted Igor Korotchenko, director of the Caspian Institute for Strategic Studies (Russia), in a conversation with NEWS.ru.

"Stealing or buying diamonds for less money through illegal channels is profitable. In Armenia, there are workshops where natural diamonds can be processed and re-exported to third countries, or sold as part of jewelry. They may later be resold on the European or American market," he said.

According to the investigation, the stones stolen from "Alrosa" were exported to Armenia, where they were processed at the facilities of ADM Diamonds, the beneficiary of which is entrepreneur and National Assembly deputy Khachatur Sukiasyan.

"The fact that Sukiasyan's people were detained in Russia indicates that he was involved in illegal business processes. But it's interesting that this was discovered only now. Although suspicions about this had been voiced earlier," Andranik Tevanyan, leader of the "Mother Armenia" movement, told NEWS.ru.

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