🚀 AI-picked stocks soar in May. PRFT is +55%—in just 16 days! Don’t miss June’s top picks.BRUSSELS/LONDON -The United States is re-evaluating the strictest elements of a ban on Russian diamonds from the Group of Seven major democracies, after opposition from African countries, Indian gem polishers and New York jewellers, seven sources said.
The G7 sanctions aim to hit another stream of revenue for the Kremlin's war effort in Ukraine, even though at around $3.5 billion, according to Russian state-run miner Alrosa's 2023 results, diamonds represent a small fraction of the profits Moscow earns from oil and gas. But three of the sources said Washington had cooled on enforcing traceability and that discussions on implementing tracing had stalled.
The presidents of Angola, Botswana and Namibia wrote to G7 leaders in February to say that a pre-determined entry point for the G7 market would be unfair, impinge on freedoms, and hurt revenues. The three nations account for 30% of diamond output.Any softening of the phased ban risks leaving loopholes and allowing Russian diamonds into boutiques in New York, London and Tokyo - a threat highlighted when Belgian authorities seized suspected Russian stones worth millions of dollars in February.
"The opportunities for, and likelihood, of Russian diamonds infiltrating the legitimate supply chain are in fact higher when you move further away from the source," the company said.