(IDEX Online) - Sergey Ivanov is to step down early as CEO of Alrosa, Russia's state-controlled diamond miner, according to media reports.He will reportedly join the private investment firm Volga Group, owned by Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko, a billionaire and long-time friend and ally of Russia's president Vladimir Putin.Mr Ivanov (pictured) was appointed as Alrosa's youngest ever boss in 2014, aged 36, and had been due to run the company until 2025.He was classified In February as a Specially Designated National (SDN) by the USA's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), as was his father Sergei Borisovich Ivanov, described by the US Treasury Department as "reportedly one of Putin's closest allies".Mr Ivanov Jr sits on the board of Gazprombank, one of the Russian banks sanctioned by the US after Russia invaded Ukraine.The Volga Group has 90,000 employees and holds significant stakes in Novatek, Russia's largest independent natural gas producer and the Sibur petrochemicals company.We approached Alrosa for comment.