MOSCOW — Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents and investigators from the Investigative Committee have arrested four suspects in connection with the high-profile Alrosa diamond theft and smuggling operation.
The individuals arrested include Valentina Matyushchenkova, an employee of Alrosa who allegedly stole the diamonds, her son Aleksey Matyushchenkova, and accomplices Armen Petrosyan and Arman Sahakyan, who were caught attempting to smuggle a batch of diamonds worth over 1.7 million rubles to Armenia.
The group is accused of systematically stealing high-quality diamonds from the Alrosa mining company from September 2024 to January 2025, with the intent to profit by smuggling them into Armenia.
The diamonds were allegedly funneled through ADM Diamond LLC, a company controlled by Sukiasyan H. A., a businessman and Member of Parliament in Armenia’s National Assembly. Authorities also tied the operation to the Baghikyan brothers, Armenian nationals currently on the international wanted list for diamond smuggling.
During raids, authorities seized:
~200,000 carats of technical-grade diamond raw materials (used to swap out for high-quality stones)
Cash and luxury jewelry from global designer brands
The case is being prosecuted under:
Article 158 Section 4 – Theft
Article 191 Section 5 – Illegal trafficking of precious stones and materials
All suspects are currently in pretrial detention, and the investigation is ongoing.
