According to the publication, since the beginning of this year, in accordance with the 12th EU sanctions package imposed for Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, a complete ban on the direct import of non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds and jewelry with diamonds from Russia into the European Union has been in effect. The partial European embargo on Russian diamonds processed in third countries began on March 1, and will fully come into force on September 1, 2024.
It appears that Russia has decided to actively use this “window” to bypass Western sanctions, selecting Armenia as the channel for supplying diamonds to the global market. Russian gold, which has been under embargo since the summer of 2022, is also actively exported through Armenian transit.
Reports of growing re-exports of Russian precious stones and gold began appearing in Armenian media as early as mid-last year. In 2023, according to official statistics, Armenia exported $1.8 billion worth of gold and $589 million worth of diamonds—a record for the Armenian economy. Unlike diamonds, the rapid growth of re-exported Russian gold only began in November.
This year, exports continued to grow. In the first quarter of 2024, gold exports amounted to $2.5 billion, and diamond exports to $185 million. There was also a sharp, unprecedented 31 percent increase in the processing of this “raw material” in Armenia. Both last year and in January-March of this year, the same scale of diamond and gold imports to Armenia, mainly from Russia, continued.
“If Armenia exported 4.5 million carats of diamonds in 2023, which is 30 times more than produced in the republic itself, this is a blatant sign of increasing re-exports,” said Yerevan economist Suren Parsyan in an interview with DW. According to his calculations, since November last year, Armenia has exported $4 billion worth of Russian gold.
Economists note that this indicates Armenia has effectively become a transit channel for Russian stones and gold to world markets, particularly to Dubai and Hong Kong. An anomalous growth in exports from Armenia has been observed in the UAE and China since last year.
Economist Agasi Tavadzian spoke about a well-established financial scheme ensuring the trade of Russian precious stones and gold. “In 2022, a significant portion of money taken out of Russia settled in Armenia. These funds are used through Armenian channels in settlements between Russia and the UAE for diamond and gold trade,” Tavadzian told DW.
It seems the embargo on Russian gold exports and the almost complete ban on precious stones does not hinder the logistics established last year for their re-export through Armenia. Data for April have not yet been published, but in March, according to official statistics, large-scale diamond exports continued.
However, intermediaries in Armenia have changed. Previously, Russian diamonds were purchased by the Armenian state company “Hay-Almast,” created in 2021 primarily for wholesale purchases from the Russian company “Alrosa” and further sale of stones to local enterprises. With the introduction of EU sanctions, this channel had to be closed.
“For several months now, ‘Hay-Almast’ has not been purchasing uncut diamonds from the Russian company ‘Alrosa,’ from which it used to buy 30 to 40 percent of its total uncut diamond imports. Now we mainly import diamonds from African countries,” said Tigran Khachatryan, executive director of “Hay-Almast,” in an interview with DW. He also mentioned ongoing negotiations with De Beers, the world’s largest company in diamond mining and trading.
The re-export of Russian diamonds from Armenia continues, meaning that other entities have replaced the Armenian state company “Hay-Almast.” Now these are private enterprises.
The Armenian publication Hetq, specializing in investigations, points to three large companies that export the most diamonds from Armenia. One of them is ADM DIAMONDS LLC, which, according to the publication, has connections with Armenian authorities, specifically with prominent businessman Khachatur Sukiasyan, a member of parliament from the ruling party “Civil Contract.”
Another company in the top three diamond exporters from Armenia is VDA DIAMONDS LLC, registered in April 2022. Its owner is Russian citizen Vithalbhai Ramani, founder of “DDK,” which deals with diamond processing.
The third major diamond-exporting company from Armenia is DIMEX CAPITAL, which has been operating in the Armenian jewelry and diamond market for about ten years.
